Seeonee 2
by DonkereWolf
Summary: The sequel to Seeonee, which starts six months after part 1 ended.
1. Chapter 1

1.

Six months had passed since the car crash. Six months since I suddenly found myself being a member of this wolf-pack after saving Bagheera. Since then things have been... well... magical, fairy-tale like, I could say.  
I've taken a liking to living among my adoptive, loving lupine family and friends. I've felt more at home than I ever did during my previous, human life, which now seemed a far and distant memory.  
Sura and Akru finally managed to kill big prey during the hunt. Though that was a reason to be proud and happy, even to celebrate, it also came with a sad consequence. They were seen as fully grown, mature wolves now. It meant they they had to move out of Luri and Alexander's den.  
Of course, either Luri, nor Alexander completely banned them. More often than not, the loving parents still welcomed them both in their big and cozy den. It just meant that they had to have a den of their own.  
On one day, I decided to call the little lake, where I always washed and swam, my home and make a makeshift den for me to live. But Luri and Alexander did not want to have any of that. They both acknowledged the little lake and the small beach to be my territory, but they wanted me back in their den for the night.  
Over the course of the months, I made a few more trips back and forth to the human village, using the Nissan Patrol which used to be of the poachers.  
With the cash that I had found at the camp, I bought some out-door clothing, a huge bowie-knife, some other useful tools to make my life in the wilderness a bit easier, and diesel to keep the car running.  
However, my funds were running out, and if I was to keep the convenience of a car, I would have to come up with a way to get more money.

With a big yawn, I stretched my arms out.  
"Well good morning there, sleepy head", Luri said with a smile, while grooming my scruffy, long hair.  
Sleep-drunk, I looked around the den. "Where is everyone?", I yawned.  
"You know Alexander", the white she-wolf replied, "He went out early to have his meeting with the hunters. Akru and Sura returned to their dens last night when you were sleeping and probably are at the meeting now too."  
"Oh", I softly mumbled.  
Luri licked my cheeks and said as if she could read my thoughts, "You miss sleeping with them at night, don't you? Why don't you go spend a few nights with them? I am sure they'd like that."  
I smiled.  
"Just as long as you won't sneakily sleep at the lake, we don't want you to sleep all alone. If I catch you sleeping there, I'll have Bacchus look after you again", she said with a kind, but mischievous smile.  
"That silly wolf just wants to turn me into an oversized wolf-cub", I said while chuckling.  
"He just wants to be a daddy. Even for those who aren't that little any more", Luri replied, "And he likes you a lot."  
I leaned against the wolf's flank and smiled, "He's very kind and caring, even if he takes it a bit too far at times."  
"Alright. Time to get going, you cuddle monster", Luri said. "So you're going spend the next night with Sura or Akru?"  
"Yes. I'll go see if they're done with discussing hunting strategies and ask."  
We both crawled out of the den and went our separate ways.

With another big stretchy yawn, I inhaled a lungful of the fresh, morning air. I took a few moments to savour the beauty of the forest, and I thought about how different this was compared to the suburban area that I once called home.  
"Yes, yes, human. We all know you're very big and tall."  
Bagheera had sneaked up on me and stood there right behind me with a grin on his maw. "And ever so easy to stalk."  
After I turned around, he raised himself up on his rear legs and placed his huge front paws on my shoulders, "Here, now I am all big and tall too. Where are you now eh?"  
I wrapped my arms around the black panther's shoulders and hugged him close. "In a place I really like, I have to admit."  
"Oh, you!", Bagheera smirked, licking my face with his raspy tongue. "So, my human, lupine friend. Do you have anything in mind for today?", he continued after getting back down on all fours.  
"I don't know yet. I was going to Council Rock."  
"Ah yes, I was there moments ago. Alexander asked me to bring you down. He has to ask you about something", the panther said, "Come, I'll walk along with ya."

We walked down the much threaded pathways through the Seeonee pack's territory, to what was known as 'Council Rock', a large, flat rock-formation where the pack's daily whereabouts were discussed.  
Akru, Sura, Lala and Alexander were still there.  
"Hmm. I should have waken you up to join us for the meeting", Alexander said. "The hunters all want you to reconsider joining in on the hunt. But on the other hand, you were so fast asleep that I could not bring myself to waking you up", the blue-black wolf added with a smile.  
"Yes, such a sweet little wolf-cub you are", Lala teased  
I sat down and gave the red-furred she-wolf a blank stare, "Oh hush."  
"What?", she continued, "You do know that I will always call you that since you've slept in Bacchus' den", she giggled.  
Bagheera, Sura, Akru and Alexander all chuckled.  
"Yah yah yah... Always picking on the human", I scoffed while shaking my head.  
Alexander stood over me and licked my face to greet me. Soon joined by the other wolves. I sprawled on my back and surrendered to the affection, happily letting them lick me all over my face and inside my mouth while savouring their scent and taste.  
Ever since I became a member of the pack, the wolves pretty much treated me as one of their own, which, among other things, meant socializing like a wolf. Face licking, sharing breath, and mouthing all were important activities practiced among the pack members to establish and re-establish bonds, and as a way of showing affection.  
After a few last warm licks, the blue-black wolf stood up.

"I want you to go to the human settlement to find Mowgli and bring him here."  
While pushing myself back up with my arms, I looked at Alexander in disbelief.  
"Yes, you've heard me, and I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now. You've been there quite often with that automobile of yours, and we've never seen or heard any signs of Shere-Khan finding out about it.  
"Do realize that you'll be breaking the truce that Mowgli made with Shere-Khan", Bagheera worryingly remarked. "IF he finds out, he'll come back here for retaliation."  
"If he does, he'll be killed by my pack", the blue and black wolf said with determination.  
"At the cost of how many of our pack mates?", I sighed.  
"Please, we've missed him so much", Akru sighed, "Even if it would only be for a short visit, that would be wonderful."  
"What does the pack think about the matter, Alexander?", Bagheera asked.  
"I've asked, and most share your concerns. But we are eager to see him again after all this time."  
I exhaled and stared into the void for a few moments.

If I would find him and bring him back here, it would mean that Sura and Akru would have their initial human brother back. What would that mean for my relationship with them? And with Alexander and Luri?  
Even if this was a very selfish thought, the idea bothered me. On the other hand, I've heard how heartbroken they were when Mowgli had to leave the pack. So why would I deny them that happiness, if I had the means to get him here safely?  
"Do you want any of us to accompany you?", Alexander asked.  
"No. Who knows what would happen if the people in that town would see a wild wolf, panther or bear in the open. Authorities would be alarmed and you'd be either captured, or shot."  
Sura grumbled bitterly, "I don't understand humans. Why would they kill us?"  
"Humans are afraid of wild predators, Sura", Bagheera replied. "And selfish. They want everything for themselves."  
"Alright. I have to go to that town to get fuel for my vehicle anyway. I can have a look around to see if anyone there has heard of a boy appearing out of the forest a while ago. If he lives there, people will probably know. I might be gone for a bit longer, as I am running low on money, something I need to keep that car running."  
I stood up and walked off.

On my way to the old camp-site of the poachers, I pondered about how I would go about getting money. Despite living here for over half a year now, I could hardly consider myself familiar with the locals. Because I lived with the pack, who communicated with my in my own tongue, I didn't speak the native language, and knew no one in the town I was going to. Landing myself a few small errands would be hard to say the least, and the amount of money I'd be able to get would probably not be enough to even buy me one tank of diesel.  
I gazed upon the camp-site. During the months since I got here, I cleaned most of the place up. Any useful materials I brought to my den. To dispose of other, smaller items, I dug a hole in the ground.  
Only the steel bars of the cage where Bagheera used to be in were left, leaning against a tree, exposed to the elements to slowly rust and decay. A powerful reminder of that fateful day when my life changed entirely. I managed to put my mind at ease about any possible consequences for me killing these two poachers, their remains probably lost forever, decomposed and scattered by the wild waters of the river.  
With a few turns of the starter, the V6 turbo-diesel engine of the Nissan Patrol fired up again. Once again, the electronic 'ding' and a small red LED on the information display notified me of the fact that it was high time the diesel-tank got filled up.  
While steering it down the narrow, bumpy forest trail, I wondered for how long I would be able to keep this car. Despite its reliability, it probably was long overdue for a service. I just did not have the money for it. I smirked when I realized how quickly and easy my mind snapped back to the 'human mindset'. The campsite functioned like a portal in my mind. Everything beyond was part of this magical land where animals spoke and where I had found happiness. Everything on the other side was part of the human world, a place I've found myself increasingly alienated from.

I lifted my foot off of the accelerator to coast to city-limit speeds after seeing the familiar buildings appear in the distance.  
Two right turns, a narrow left, and I'd be at the fuel station. Not a moment too soon, as the fuel level indicator almost buried itself in the plastic edge of the gauge to the left of the ominous 'E'.  
The counter of the diesel pump went into the 90 liters range, and with a loud clack, the pump disengaged.  
"Oof, a bit too close for comfort", I mumbled to myself while walking to the kiosk to pay.  
After greeting the guy behind the till, I paid the last of my dollars and walked back to the car.  
I drove a few kilometers and pulled over at the edge of town.  
'Going back to the hospital where I went to get the antibiotics to treat Sura's blood poisoning would probably be a good idea. Surely they would've heard about a boy from the forest?'  
My thoughts were interrupted by a few loud taps against the window of the driver's side door.  
I looked up to my left and saw two police officers standing next to the car. I winded the driver's side window down.  
"Sir, please step out of the car and stand to the side", one of the police officers ordered in fluent English while showing me his badge.  
While wondering what it was they wanted from me, I opened the door and got out of the car.  
"Take off that knife and put that on the ground, Sir", the officer on the right ordered while holding his hand on the holster of his fire-arm.  
"Are you a mister de Berg?", the other officer asked me.  
"Uh. Yes. That is my surname", I stumbled after realizing this was the first time in months that I heard my name. I threw the sheathed knife onto the ground.  
"I'm afraid we'll have to put you under arrest, Sir", he continued.  
"But... How? F-For what?", I stuttered after being flabbergasted for a few seconds.  
"You are suspected of committing a double murder, Sir", the officer firmly said after putting my wrists behind my back and handcuffing me.  
My insides started to panic. My stomach turned to jelly and my legs grew weak. Not a moment too soon, I was put in the back-seat of the police car. My head was spinning.  
The drive to the police station went by in a haze, and before I knew it, the barred door of the station's jail slammed shut and locked behind me.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

A rusted metal bunk-bed stood against the left wall of the cell. The green metal paint was flaking away, exposing the corroded metal underneath. The side of an old metal mesh that made up the base of the bed was visible under a smelly, stained, mouldy mattress.  
An old rickety wooden chair stood against the opposite wall. It didn't take me long to decide which surface to go sit on. The chair squeaked loudly under my weight.  
I slumped against the chair's backrest and face-palmed.  
'Double murder', I thought, 'India has the death penalty. I am done for.'  
While trying to suppress the sick feeling in my stomach, I desperately tried to rationalize my situation.  
'How can they prove I killed them? It was months ago. Over half a year! Was my DNA on one of the bodies? Is that even possible after months in the water? How can they link me to the deaths? The car? The knife?'  
"Matthew de Berg", I heard after a little while. With a few metallic clacks, the old rusty door unlocked and was opened.  
"Come with me for your interview", the officer ordered while handcuffing me again.  
Wondering what was in stock for me, I walked ahead of the officer down the hallway to an office on the left. It all looked like what you would expect of a jail in a country like this. Dirty, un-kept, worn out, smelly, dark, horrible.  
The interrogation would probably be rather violent. I recalled seeing programs on television about people ending up in an Indian jail or prison, having to sign forced, untrue confessions under the threat of beatings or other kinds of torture.

"Please uncuff this man and leave us, officer Bawa", the person sitting in a padded chair at a heavy wooden table kindly said. After doing so, the officer left and the door closed.  
"Please mister de Berg, have a seat", the person kindly requested, while pointing to another padded chair on the opposite side of the table.  
I sat down and rest my hands on the surface.  
"Let me introduce myself. I am inspector Chadha, head of this department. First of all, would you like some coffee or tea?"  
"Eh, I'd like a glass of water, please", I hoarsely answered.  
Chadha reached for the jug of water standing at the edge of the table and poured himself and me a glass. I had little to no reservations and emptied it in one gulp, which made the officer chuckle. He poured me another glass.  
"Mister de Berg", Chadha started while reading from a sheet of paper, "You were apprehended because you have been spotted in, and actually were caught driving a 1997 Nissan Patrol with a license plate linked to one of two persons, whose skeletal remains were found two months ago. The owner of the vehicle was wanted for various crimes. I want to know where you found this car and how it came in your possession. It most likely was at, or at least near the last place where the owner must have been before he and his companion were killed and thrown into the river."  
"Killed?", I asked, trying to sound as clueless as I could.  
"Killed, yes!", Chadha answered loudly. "Both skeletons had signs of severe trauma to the neck and head. They were killed and most likely thrown into the river. Now since you're the only lead I have on their case and stole their car, you are under suspicion."  
"I didn't steal their car!", I grumbled. "And how would you know? I could've bought it off of some malicious car dealer who stol..."  
"Because the car is still on the skeleton's name!', Chadha shouted. "Skeletons do not drive cars, mister de Berg! Not here in India at least. Maybe they do in the Netherlands!? A car can not be sold without reporting it to the local authorities to have the owner legally changed! So that means you either found the abandoned car, or..." Chadha shifted the chair closer to the table and looked me in my eyes," Or that you killed him and his companion, and took the car." The inspector reclined in his chair and took a sip of water.  
"And besides, tell me mister de Berg, how many people leave their car unlocked with the key in the ignition? You have possession of the key. How would that be possible if it would have been washed down the river together with the bodies? And please do not tell me that you just happened to have found the key washed ashore."  
I sighed.  
Chadha reached into a gray paper file folder and threw the scarred remains of a passport on the table in front of me. "This is yours, I believe."  
I opened the booklet. Most pages were burnt badly. But the plastic one containing my picture, name and address was in too good of a condition for me to deny the document to be mine.  
"You've crashed the car you loaned and managed to get out of the wreck before burning alive. You stumbled onto these two persons in some way, who were going about their business, robbed them, killed them, tossed their bodies into the river, and took their car. Likely scenario, isn't it?"  
"Their business...", I scoffed under my breath.  
Chadha looked at me in silence for a few moments. "Yes. You know more about these two men, don't you? We've had our eyes on them for a good while. They are wanted for various crimes. Theft, robbery..."  
"Poaching", I interrupted him. "Luring animals into snares. Shooting them with a tranquilizer gun. Putting them in cages. Killing them, skinning them, selling their pelts."  
Thinking about finding that pile of pelts in the back of the car and the metal tool case with the scalpels took me back to when I found Bagheera. Flash-backs of being beaten up, the knife slicing my chest, and later, stabbing into my left thigh. The anger, the pain, the blinding rage. The sight of two lifeless bodies on the ground...  
The room turned into a hazy shim. My heart throbbed in my head. Sweat ran down my face. Fists clenched.  
"Remain calm, mister van Berg!"  
Chadha and Bawa, who Chadha had hastily summoned, grabbed either side of me firmly and pushed me back down into my chair with force.  
The vivid flash-back and the rage ebbed away. My breathing was quick and superficial, and I noticed small trickles of blood on the table under my hands. There were two rows of four bleeding cuts in the palm of my hands where my nails had dug into the flesh.  
"I think I have seen enough, mister de Berg", inspector Chadha decidedly said after getting back into his chair. "Bawa, cuff him up and escort him back to his cell."

The stinky, mouldy mattress couldn't bother me any more.  
Daylight had faded away. A small light bulb screwed into a fitting at the end of an electric wire from a hole in the ceiling cast a sharp, cold light onto the rough stone walls and the bare concrete floor.  
Despondent, I stared to the dirty underside of the topside bunk.  
I should've kept myself under control. Now they had what they wanted. My violent reaction would undoubtedly be seen as a contribution to a confession that I did what I was accused of.  
The temperature in my cell dropped as the evening progressed. The cold air made me shiver.  
I didn't sleep that night.  
The days went by agonizingly slow. I was constantly torn between feelings of intense anger for being in this position, and a sense of hopelessness.  
Not counting the bleak, cold and dirty cell I was kept in, Bawa, who apparently was the officer assigned to guard my cell, did not treat me badly at all. I was allowed to go to the toilet and take showers in the staff bathroom. The feeling of warm water on my skin felt so wonderful after all that time. The food I was given obviously wasn't star-class either, but definitely wasn't anything like the stale bread and gone off meat one tends to hear about so often. After the months I've spent living as a wolf, it even seemed like a welcome treat.  
The morning of the fifth day, a loud tap against one of the metal bars of the cell-door woke me up.  
"Time for your second interview, mister de Berg", Chadha said, and he ordered Bawa to unlock the door.

"So, What caused your rage the last time we spoke? Poaching? Is that what they were doing when you found them? Did that make you so angry when you thought back of it?"  
A few moments of silence followed. I looked at the wooden grains of the table's surface. Like last time, Chadha was sitting opposite of me, but had requested Bawa's presence during the interrogation after my last outburst.  
"Your silence isn't helping, mister de Berg, and your outburst only confirms my suspicions", Chadha said with a clear tone of irritation in his voice.  
I leaned back and sighed, "I did not find these two bastards. They found me."  
Chadha looked at me confused. "What do you mean?"  
"After my crash, I was aimlessly wandering around. All my kit was lost in the wreck. Maps, navigation, everything. I was hopelessly lost. Suddenly, near a river that I was following down-stream in the hope to find a town or village, I saw a cage in a clearing in the forest. A black panther was inside of it."  
Chadha leaned forward and looked at me with great interest.  
"When I approached to check out the animal, I felt a hard kick that caused me to slam against the bars, followed by another kick. These two poachers beat me up and accused me for wanting to steal that panther from them. They cut my chest up with a knife, stabbed it in my left thigh and told me they'd gut me."  
"Oh my god", Bawa stumbled.  
"Do you have any evidence to back this up?", Chadha asked.  
"I need to stand up for this."  
"Go ahead", the inspector answered.  
I got out of my chair, took my shirt off, and lowered my jeans far enough to uncover the scar on my left thigh.  
Chadha and Bawa looked at my scars in silence.  
After buttoning my jeans back up and putting my shirt on, I sat down.  
"Your rage...", Chadha said.  
"Yes. My rage. The pain triggered it. And when it was over, both were dead. One I kicked against the cage, which caused him to break his neck and jaw. The other I kicked against his larynx, causing him to suffocate. Seeing what I had done, I felt horrible. I never realized that I was able to do such a thing. But what option did I have?"  
"Mmmhmm. So an act of self defense. That changes matters a bit. Though I am wondering, what happened to the panther?"  
"I dislocated the padlock with a crow-bar. The panther leaped out and ran away into the forest. The animal didn't even look back."  
"Probably for the better", Bawa said. "Who knows what it could have done to you."  
I stared at Bawa, "I am not so sure about that. I considered my wounds to be lethal. I've had no proper food in days and had no way of cleaning the wounds up properly. So I assumed they would get infected and I'd be dead within days. At least I would've been spared a slow and agonizing death, but that did not happen for whatever reason. But now I am here. and I know India has the death penalty, and I am confessing to a double murd..."  
"Like I said", Chadha interrupted me, "Your confession changes matters. Yes. You've killed them. But I can clearly see this as an act of self defense. The scars on your body confirm this, though having more evidence would help greatly in your defense."  
Now I was struck with a dilemma. I could give Chadha the location of the old camp-site. They could at least see the remains of the cage. And to a trained inspector's eye, I assumed that it would be obvious that it was used as a camp-site.  
But on the other hand, by now, my pack-mates would be looking for me. And quite surely, the camp-site would be the first location they would go to.  
"I... don't have any evidence", I said with a sigh. "My story and scars you just saw are all that I have to back my story up. I was delirious from hunger, thirst and from blood loss. I've almost no recollection about what happened afterwards and how I found my way to safety."  
Chadha rubbed his chin. "Well, we do have the location where you crashed the loaned car. We can just go from there. Bawa, escort him back to his cell. Thank you for your statement, mister de Berg. I'll come back to you later."

A bright flash of lightning instantly followed by a loud clap of thunder broke that afternoon's monotone silence. The suddenness of it startled me. I got up from the bunk bed and walked to the small, square barred hole in the wall. Most of the view it offered was taken up by a blind wall of a tall building, opposite to the back of the police station at the other side of a narrow alleyway. If I pressed my head against the steel bars, I could just about make out the ominous, angry black and gray sky above. I inhaled the scent of the fresh rain falling on the pavement. A good thunderstorm was something that I had always enjoyed in the forest. The trees scattered the rolling sound of thunder around interestingly, and the rain made all the vegetation release the most wonderful fragrances. The wolves however just found it a nuisance that would get them wet, resulting in a muddy and messy coat. I just found rain refreshing. Lala always liked to make fun of me because I enjoyed rain. Like she liked to make fun of me for many things. I was very fond of her though. Like I was of my other pack-mates.  
My nose stung and moments later, tears ran down my cheeks. I would never see them again. I would most probably spend the rest of my life rotting away in some stinking Indian prison.  
The afternoon thunderstorm subsided and things calmed down again. The afternoon changed to evening. I had little desire to finish my plate of food that night.  
Once again, I was cold during the night. Even the thin blanket officer Bawa brought for me made little difference.  
How much I missed the coziness and warmth of Alexander and Luri's den. Their love and affection like only wolves can give. I thought about Sura and Akru, who once again would loose a human brother. Lala, Bagheera and Baloo. My other pack-mates. It was all over.  
The Seeonee pack's territory wasn't very far away from where I crashed. The perimeter of the investigation Chadha would order would start there, and maybe a week, or two weeks before it would tangent, and then cross over into the pack's grounds? The wolves would be clever enough to go into hiding, or move away. But my den at the lake would be discovered with all the things I managed to gather over the period of a few months. My finger prints would be all over them of course. I've kept my whereabouts after rescuing Bagheera to myself for that reason. I didn't want that area to be discovered, ever.

As the days went by, my mood grew darker and darker. I tried to force myself to keep eating and drinking, but more often than not, I couldn't swallow any food. I skipped showers and just sat on the cold concrete floor staring ahead of me, or lay on the filthy mattress in a light slumber. Violent nightmares about my adoptive family being chased away from their dens, shot, killed or poisoned by commissioned hunters haunted me during the cold and dark nights.  
My mind formed crosshairs. My vision blurred outside of them. It slowly panned left. Further and further. It stopped for a little while. Twigs and leafs hanging in front blurred to an almost translucent state as it focused on a dark hole in the distance. The den. THE den. A loud pop. Sounds of cheering voices. A bloody trophy carried away.

"Mister de Berg! Hello? Matthew!"

Bawa stood in front of my cell.  
"Inspector Chadha wants to see you. I think he has good news to share!"  
With effort, I raised my stiff body up from the concrete floor and staggered to the cell door.  
"You look very pale. I think what Chadha has to tell you will make you feel a lot better", Bawa smiled. "But please, go shower first."  
The slight smile I tried to fake while I passed him on my way out of my cell went by unnoticed.  
After showering, I looked myself over in the small mirror before I shaved. I didn't recognize myself. These weeks here had taken their toll on me. My skin was pale, my bloodshot eyes sunk in their sockets with bags underneath because of chronic lack of sleep.

I was escorted to the same room I was interrogated in on earlier occasions.  
"Ah! Mister de Berg!", inspector Chadha smiled warmly. "Have I got news for you! Please sit down. Would you be so kind and bring him some warm tea, Bawa? He looks like he can use a warm up."  
Reluctantly, I sipped the sweetened piping hot liquid out of the cup.  
"Well, mister de Berg. Sorry for taking so long, but things here in India are a bit more conservative than you are used to in your home country, I'm afraid. If you agree to let me handle your case, it will be in court next week and the outcome will be in your favour. The judge happens to be someone I know quite well. When he heard about your statement about those poachers, he grew sympathetic for you. Of course you are entitled to a state issued lawyer, but if you choose that option, I can not help you and you will be on your own. It can take months or even years for your case to get to court. It's your choice."  
Chadha leaned back in his seat, sipping his tea.  
"What does 'in my favour' exactly imply?", I slowly asked.  
"Well", Chadha answered, "You acted in self defense, but can not provide any evidence to support your case except of your scars. Now I could order an extensive investigation to explore the area of your crash which would take weeks, if not months. Even if the odds are in our favour, we might find some eroded away left overs of a camp? No DNA, no footprints, nothing after all these months. So that would be a waste of my time, your time, and our effort. The judge is willing to accept your statement and reduce the charge from double murder to involuntary manslaughter, taking the fact that you were beaten up into account. The sentence will most probably be very lenient."  
"I looked Chadha in his eyes without twitching a muscle and almost inaudibly spoke "I will accept your offer."  
"Good man", he said. You will receive some more formal clothing for your hearing. Now, go and have some more rest. You look very poorly indeed."

The actual court session was a farce, only put up for formal reasons, and was over in as little as fifteen minutes.  
My case, that started off as a double-murder, was leveled down to involuntary manslaughter, like Chadha said it would be. It ended up leveled down even further because the judge accepted the confession Chadha noted down of me about being beaten and stabbed right before I took the lives of the poachers.  
With Chadha and Bawa at either side me of me, I meekly sat in the accused bench and listened to the proceedings.  
"Mister de Berg, this court holds you responsible for involuntary manslaughter. However, given the gruesome circumstances under which you were at the time, and that you clearly acted in self defense, this court will drop that charge, and not ask for any further prosecution. You will be deported back to your native country, The Netherlands."  
If the judge's verdict would've been life-long imprisonment in India, I wouldn't even be much sadder than I was hearing this outcome. Deportation.  
In a haze, I went through the formalities of greeting the court members, and was being escorted out of the room.

"You don't seem very happy. mister de Berg", Bawa remarked while looking at me through the rear view mirror.  
"I am sure he is very relieved", Chadha said to Bawa before turning to me. "You will be on your way back home in a few days, mister de Berg."  
I gazed through the window to the landscape moving by. In the distance in between the buildings, I could make out the tree-line of the forest. Once again I felt a lump in my throat.  
"We will bring you to a hotel in this town. You will stay there until tomorrow afternoon when you shall be picked up by customs officers who shall escort you to the airport where you will be deported to The Netherlands."

G-forces pressed me in the air plane seat.  
I gazed out of the small port-side window down to the receding tarmac of the runway the air plane was taking off from. Tarmac, then buildings, followed by forests and countryside, before a thick layer of stratus clouds blanketed everything up.  
I sighed, leaned back and closed my eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

3.

"Matt? Hey! Matt! Wakey wakey."  
Slowly, I opened my eyes. I focused on the two computer monitors standing in front of me, an open Word document on the right monitor, with a half finished sentence ending in a long line of gibberish.  
Loud sniggering and giggling filled the office while I sleepily leaned back in my office chair.  
"Yup! Truly qwerty'd! AGAIN", Jonatan laughed.  
Bemused, I looked around at my amused colleagues.  
"This is the second time today you've fallen asleep, Matt", Jaques, my manager, commented while rolling up an office chair next to me.  
"You're alright?", he worriedly asked, placing a hand on my right shoulder. "You seem very absent-minded this week."  
The others went back to their workstations and tasks, giving me and Jaques some privacy.  
"I am... not feeling too well. It's Thursday today, right?", I rhetorically asked. "I've no urgent matters that require finishing at the moment. I'll take this afternoon and tomorrow off, if that's alright with you."  
"Of course, no worries. Get some sleep and try to sort out whatever it is that is bothering you, alright?, Jaques said while standing up.  
After shutting down my computer and wishing everyone a good day, I took my coat and walked out of the office to the underground parking.  
A thirty minute drive home later, I sat down in my large reclining chair and exhaled.  
I reached out to a drawer on my right side and opened it, taking out an A4 size file folder containing news paper cuts.  
"Man returns after being lost in the Indian jungle for six months."  
A small article in one of the main Dutch newspapers. It also was a short item on the evening news.  
Thankfully, that was as much attention as it got from the Dutch media.  
Superficially, I scanned the article I had read so often.

Inspector Chadha apparently had done a good word about me to Dutch authorities. A victim of misfortune, who almost died in a car crash, and was then brutally attacked by two poachers. Two poachers who turned out to be criminals on a 'most wanted' list in the region.  
When I first got back home in the Netherlands, I was admitted to a hospital to recover, given my bad physical condition. It was close to the town I used to live.  
It was there where Jaques, who had heard about my return, visited me. After a pleasant conversation, he very kindly offered me my old job back, as they had not been able to find a suitable replacement during my six month long absence.  
It was amazing how little time it took me to feel as if those six months were just a week, a short vacation to another world.  
Two years had passed by since.

Alexander, Luri, Sura, Akru, Lala, Bagheera, Baloo, Bacchus. Not a day went by without thinking about them. But I managed to function, and I dare to say that I even was fairly content being back home, and back in human society.  
Well, until a week ago, when a news article on the Internet caught my attention.  
"Man-eating tiger kills forty year old man in India. Local authorities organize man-hunt."  
I checked the date of the article. It was about a week old. My stomach started to churn as I read about the location of the incident.  
"Balaghat region, India."

Balaghat is the town I got to know as the 'nearest human settlement' when I lived with the pack, and where I was jailed.  
Feverishly, I browsed the Internet for more information about who the victim was, but couldn't find any more details.  
I checked the time - 'Standard Indian time is eight hours earlier. So that should make it late morning there.'  
After a quick browse, I found the telephone number of the agency that posted the article and I grabbed my phone.  
Thirty seconds later, there was a clack, and through some static, I could hear a male voice speaking to me in Hindi.  
"Namaste? Main kisake saath baat kar rahee hoon?"  
"Eh, Hello? I'm sorry, but do you speak English?"  
"Oh, yes. Most certainly", the man on the other side replied.  
I told the man my name, and asked if he knew any more details about the incident.  
"Oh wait, you're that man that survived for six months in the jungle here, right?"  
"Uh yes. I am. And because what happened is in the same area roughly, I grew curious after reading what happened."  
"Well, it was quite interesting, and horrible at the same time according to witnesses and police. A huge tiger appeared out of the forest suddenly. It seemed very focused and pretty much ignored the poor panicking people it encountered on its path. It was almost as if it knew where to go. After a short wander around, it ran to an apartment block for assisted living, jumped through an open window of one of the ground level flats, and well... went for and attacked the man in that room. People saw the animal jump out of the same open window again a minute later, blood all over its face and chest, and run off back into the jungle. The scene those poor souls encountered when checking on what transpired was... well, horrific isn't the right word. It was just brutal. Police showed me pictures of the massacre."  
My heart raced and pounded in my head. "Who was the victim? Do you know?"  
"There is only suspicion and speculation for now. The body was so badly mutilated that it was unrecognizable. Tissue samples have been taken for DNA analysis. But people who live in the same apartment block said that the room belonged to the young man who came from the jungle a few years earlier, who goes by the name of Mowgli, and that the man who was killed was his guardian."  
"And the boy? He is safe?"  
"Yes", the man answered. "He was in the building's library studying when the tiger attacked. He's still learning languages and speaking properly, you know. For that he reads a lot. The incident has left him deeply shocked. He kept on speaking of the tiger as 'Shere-Khan' and claims that the only reason it left the protection of the forest was to find and kill him. He begged to be moved to a place closer to the town center, afraid the animal will come for him again."  
"H-Has the tiger been captured yet?", I asked with a trembling voice, trying to keep my emotions in check.  
"Sadly not yet. Local authorities are teaming up with voluntary trackers and hunters in an attempt to track the tiger down."  
I clenched my jaw, as visions of one of the nightmares I suffered while in that cell came back.  
"But sadly", the man continued, "Four of the men who went into the forest have not reported back and have been missing now for three days. They're operating in a radius of a few kilometers from the edge of town, as that is where the tiger is believed to have its hunting grounds."  
"One more question", I asked, "You mentioned local authorities. Police?"  
"Yes. Ah, and you might know these men. Chadha and Bawa."  
"Are they among those missing?"  
"No. They're coordinating the operation. Now their focus is on finding the missing men."  
I exhaled. "I want to thank you for your time, Sir. Have a good day."

Quickly, I terminated the call and threw the phone across the room onto the sofa.  
I placed my hands over my eyes for a few moments, taking deep breaths.  
Every fiber of my body wanted to be back in India now. Back in the Seeonee forest, to make sure my pack mates were safe and sound.  
'A few kilometers from the edge of town', resonated in my head.  
'The campsite is much further than that', I reassured myself. 'This is no where near the Seeonee Pack's territory.'  
It did not take me very long to make up my mind. My destiny did not lie here. It wasn't in this comfortable house, or the office that I worked in. The place I belonged was the Seeonee forest, among my adoptive family.  
I had to make sure to get back as quickly as possible.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

Jaques was very unhappy about my resignation.  
He thought that I had lost my mind for wanting to trade my life here for a much rougher existence back in India. Of course, I kept my true motivations to myself. I just said that I found peace with myself while living a minimalist existence there, and that I had come to the conclusion that life here was too hectic and chaotic for me.  
Some of my colleagues admired my determination, others just waved it off as some silly idealistic act of lunacy.  
After officially giving Jaques my notion, I had a month to get things in order. That meant canceling the lease of my house, trying to sell as much of my belongings as possible, and sort things out with the Indian Embassy in The Hague to get a permanent residency. Because it only had been two years since I got back, I hadn't had much opportunity to build up a proper financial buffer, in between buying all the necessities to provide for a comfortable living. My colleagues were so kind to spread the word, and it didn't take very long for me to sell most of my things.  
With that money, and the small amount that I did have in my savings account, I bought a one way airline ticket to Nagpur International Airport, which was the same airport I was deported from two years ago, and the closest major airport to Balaghat. I ended up having a considerable amount of money left over after booking, of which a part I converted to Indian Rupees. Currency that would serve me better than the US dollars I had used there before.

I bought a proper handheld GPS device with detailed topographical maps of the area, small solar and mechanical battery chargers, and some other related items. That, along with one change of clothing snugly fitted in a shoulder bag, which was all I planned on bringing with me to India. I wouldn't need anything else. I made a list of shops and stores of use in Balaghat.  
Once I would clear customs and get all the bureaucratic procedures out of the way, I would try to sort out proper clothing, survival gear, and make my way back to the pack as quickly as I could.

The landing gear of the passenger jet that flew me the last leg from Qatar to Nagpur in India touched down on the runway's tarmac with a controlled skid and thud.  
After a short taxi, it came to a stop at the designated gate, where a passenger loading bridge was steered out to mate with the plane's left front door.  
I made my way into the terminal building, and found my way to the immigration area.  
The officer in the boot I stood in front of went through my documents. He opened my passport first, and looked up at me in surprise after reading my name.  
"Six months spent lost in the jungle, and still you come back, he remarked with a smirk. "Permanently, even!", he continued after looking at my permit.  
"Was the story that big that the news reached all the way here?", I asked.  
"Well, Balaghat isn't that far from here. A four hour trip. And yes, regionally, it made the newspapers. You're one lucky guy to have survived. I mean, there are tigers, wolves and other big predators living in that area. I am sure you were aware of that?"  
"Um. Uh yes, I did cross my mind more than once. And of course I heard about the tragic incident in Balaghat little over a month ago. Do you happen to have any news on that? Last thing I heard was that a party of four men went missing."  
"Yes. The tiger is still at large. The news has daily updates. The mutilated remains of the group of four were found five days after they were initially reported missing. The animal has not been seen since, and all attempts to track it down have been seized, at least temporarily."  
"That tiger killed all four of them alone? I assume they were armed?", I asked in surprise.  
"Some of the damage and bite marks on the bodies were not caused by a tiger or any other large feline. Whatever happened, there were more animals involved."  
I fell silent.  
"You're going back to that area, Mister de Berg?"  
"I am going back to Balaghat to begin with."  
"Please do take care. You've survived the wilderness for six months, and thus are skilled in survival techniques, but an unarmed man alone is no match for a fully grown tiger, or a pack of wolves. It's best to stay out of the jungle altogether if you want to live out your full life."  
While suppressing the urge to scoff, I thanked the officer for the update and advice, and wished him a pleasant day.

I had only experienced local traffic in Balaghat. The absolute mayhem that was the six hour long bus ride on Indian motorways from Nagpur to Balaghat was very unnerving. I saw countless car wrecks, of which some were still smoking, and even dead bodies. While shaking my head, I just told myself that not too long from now, I'd be back in the serene forest, away from this mess.  
After getting out of the bus, I got my list with shops and stores, turned on my GPS receiver, and went on my way to purchase supplies; proper camouflage clothing, a back-pack, a light-weight sleeping bag, a pair of firm boots, a big bowie knife, a smaller all-purpose folding knife, a machete, sharpening stones, flints, a few cans of soup and packs of MRE to get me going for the first few days until I'd find things to eat in the forest. Because I no longer had a car or other means of transport, I'd have to walk the sixty kilometers from the outskirts of town to the location of the former campsite, and then to the pack's ground. The distance from the outskirts of town to a few kilometers into the forest would take me straight through the territory of Shere-Khan. There also could be roadblocks in place to prevent anyone from entering the forest. Though these roadblocks would not bother me, because I was planning to stay clear from roads and pathways. But the possibility of Shere-Khan sniffing me out worried me.  
I checked and rechecked my lists and made sure that I bought everything I thought I needed. I decided to make my way out of Balaghat as quickly as I could and disappear into the forest, and not spend the night.

The obnoxious noises of beeping horns, revving diesel trucks, zooming two-stroke tuk-tuks and other racket quickly faded away, blanketed by the huge trees and thick undergrowth of the forest.  
Fifteen minutes later I found myself in total silence, except for the wind making the leafs and twigs rustle, with nothing but trees in sight. Familiar scents of decomposing leafs and twigs on the ground, being turned into nutritious humus for the vegetation to feed and grow on filled my nostrils. I held short for a few moments to take in everything. Oh how I had missed this so, so much. Even if the initial reason of my return was grim, I felt ecstatic.  
I took a few deep breaths and continued my way.  
Despite the thick forest canopy, my GPS device still got enough signal to provide me with a fix. I was glad that I invested in a proper hand-held receiver, in stead of relying on a smart-phone for everything. It would be all but useless here anyway.  
I remained parallel to the main road, putting a few hundred meters of forest in between for safety. I had to follow the road, as there was no possible short-cut. The road basically followed a straight line right to the campsite.

Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks, instantly pressing myself against the tree closest to me, holding as still as I could.  
There in the distance, a huge orange and black shape slowly moved in between the trees. I was shocked when I saw how enormously huge Shere-Khan was. Hoping that my camouflage clothing would provide some cover, I held my breath.  
Because the tiger was up-wind from where I was, he did not detect my presence.  
He paused and raised his huge head up high as if to taste the air. Slowly he turned towards me. It must have been a hundred meters in between him and me at most. His gaze scoured the forest like sweeping radar, but our eyes did not meet. A minute or two later, he yawned, shook his head as if something was stuck in his fur, and continued on his way, at an angle of roughly ninety degrees to where I was going.  
With my heart violently pounding in my head, I leaned over with my hands on my thighs to regain myself.  
At least knowing the general direction in which he was initially heading, I felt a bit less stressed. But having seen the tiger in the flesh for the first time surely put me on edge. I decided to keep on walking through the night, putting as much distance between me and Shere-Khan's territory as quickly possible.

The day turned into a moonless night. The pitch black darkness made it difficult for me to navigate the uneven terrain. I tried to use my GPS device as little as possible, because keeping it at even the lowest display illumination setting would temporarily blind me after turning it off. Not even to mention drawing unwanted attention of, or alerting wildlife with eyes far better equipped to see in the dark than mine. Hours and hours went by. Up to my annoyance, I noticed that my physical shape left much to be desired. However, I pushed on through.  
The light of early dawn filled the still forest while I sat down on a fallen tree trunk to relief the pressure off of my aching legs. I heard the rush of water. Exhausted, I pressed a button on my GPS receiver to activate the display.  
I had arrived back at the campsite.  
Everything was as I remembered. Though now badly corroded and tumbled over in a disorganized pile, the steel bars that once made up the cage were still there. I realized that I was sitting on the same tree trunk as I did when I came here first. At last, I felt confident enough to allow myself some time to eat some food. I activated an MRE and watched it sizzle and steam as it warmed up the contents. 'Shredded BBQ beef', it read on the label. The food was as bland as the package suggested. But it was food, and provided me with much needed energy to be able to continue the twenty kilometer long walk to get back to the pack's grounds. Sleep would be for later.

Familiar tree and rock formations, patterns in vegetation that still were there... Everything pointed out that I was getting close. Closer to my adoptive home. My tiredness seemed to disappear when I finally came back to the pack's grounds.  
Something seemed out of order though, as I walked passed the familiar rock formations and mounds. No patches of flattened vegetation. No paw prints in the sand. The area looked as if it had been deserted for a while.  
I walked around to find the patch of scruff that was bordering my territory and den next to the lake and water-fall. However, the hole that used to be in the brush no longer was there. I grabbed the machete that I kept sheathed at the side of my back-pack and started to chop away vegetation to create an entrance. The sharp and stiff twigs scratched the skin of my head and arms while I pushed myself and my backpack through.  
To my delight, my den was still pretty much intact. The wooden supports were in place, though some parts of it had started to rot. Everything I had inside that wasn't made of organic material was still there. I would have to make new bedding, things for blankets and cushioning, and do some work on the supports, but that would not be too hard.  
Pleased with that, I grabbed my backpack and crawled my way back, to see if I could find any of my pack-mates.  
My mood dropped when I again was confronted with the desolate appearance of everything.  
While wondering where everyone was, I walked up the mound in which Luri and Alexander's den was.

I fell on my knees after seeing the large boulders and thick vegetation blocking what used to be the den's entrance.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

"Found what you came looking for?", an overly familiar voice starkly asked.

A beige and black wolf stood behind me, staring at me grimly.  
"Do you think we would not notice you coming back here? I could've stopped you before you entered our territory, but I wanted you to see this for yourself. Now you know there is nothing left here for you. Go to what was your den, take what is yours, and leave."  
I looked at the wolf in disbelief. "What? What has happened, Sura? Why do you want me to lea..."  
"You abandoned us!", he hissed. "You choose to go alone, and you disappeared."  
"Hey, I was captured when I got to the settlement! I had no chan..."  
"You should have had me come along with you.", he interrupted me again.  
"And what do you think what would have happened with you when they captured me? You'd have been killed on the spot. I said so!"  
"Then at least father would still have been here to lead the pack", Sura snarled.  
Father? Alexander? Gone? What on Earth has happened?", I asked in despair.  
"Bagheera and father went after you when you didn't return after two weeks. We never saw them again", he bitterly said.  
I balled my fists. "Shere-Khan", I whispered.  
The wolf curled his lips, exposing his canines. "I hold you responsible for what has happened. You could have chosen not to go. You, as no other, knew the risk of being captured there."  
"And disobey an order from a pack's alpha? And you wanted to see Mowgli as badly as father did."  
Sura growled. "I explained what happened. You know enough. I have no more patience for you. We no longer want you. Now go!"  
I shook my head. I couldn't even cry any more. "I'm going to make that tiger pay for what he has done."  
"Your death-wish won't change anything about what I just said", Sura coldly remarked as I walked by him.

I stopped, and looked him in his eyes, "I don't think you give a damn anymore if I live or die now, do you?", I bitterly said before walking away.  
A hard blow against my back made me loose balance and fall on the ground. With my hands, I tried to push myself back up from the ground, but the big beige-black wolf pushed me over on my back and pinned me to the ground with his front paws on my chest, His bright green eyes shooting fire.  
"How dare you say that! We cared about you. We thought you were dead! Fell pray to Shere-Khan. We mourned you! You were my brother! Akru's brother! We loved you like you were one of us. But apparently, you choose to return to the human world, in stead of us!", the wolf viciously snarled at me, his fangs getting uncomfortably close to my face and neck. Without thinking I reached down to my left thigh, unsheathed my bowie knife and pointed the tip at Sura's chest.  
"Please. Don't", I said.  
Something snapped in the wolf. With a powerful leap, he jumped off of me and turned around.  
With a low, deep, and threatening growl he said: "If our paths ever cross again, I will kill you."

Sura gave me one last ominous stare before running off to a small group of wolves in the far distance.  
For a split second, I thought I recognized Akru and Lala. But the second Sura reached them, they all ran away.  
A cold breeze woke me up later that day. Dazed and disorientated, I looked around and sat up-right. I felt broken and beaten.  
For the first time in my life, I truly felt homeless.  
I even felt worse than in that dirty cell back in Balaghat. I could not understand and comprehend Sura's hostile attitude towards me. But now it was too late. I came to the realization that I crossed a line by pulling my knife on him. Something I did not even do when Sandah attacked me, and Sandah wanted to kill me. Sura however, was my wolf brother.  
Fruitlessly, I tried to rationalize my actions. I had not been close to any large predators in years. And then the first contact was an attack. I panicked because his hostility took me by surprise?  
But I shook my head. I should have kept my cool. Would the other wolves of the pack share his opinion?  
I thought about Sura's stark threat. It would be better for me to leave. It had already been a few hours now.  
For the last time, I looked at the den. The place where I had shared so many happy moments with my wolf brothers, Alexander, Luri...  
My hands went through the vegetation, and over the rocks blocking the entrance.  
'If Alexander went after me with Bagheera and went missing... It must mean that...' I took a few steps back. "Oh no", I gasped.  
I tried to remember the group of wolves Sura ran to this morning. I thought I saw Lala and Akru, but I could not recall even seeing a hint of the white wolf in the group. And Sura didn't say anything about her.  
"My deathwish", I repeated softly.  
I had no place here any more.  
Without the financial means or a desire to return to the Netherlands to once again pick up my life there, I decided that I would go do what I said to Sura.  
Beyond any doubt, I would not survive a confrontation with Shere-Khan, but with my bowie knife in one hand, and the machete, which more resembled a small sword, in the other, I could at least inflict serious, or perhaps even lethal injuries. If I would not be too late, that was. With the terror he unleashed in Balaghat, it would only be a matter of time before he'd be tracked down, shot, and killed by hunters.  
With an aching heart, I grabbed my backpack, and swung it around my back.  
I walked back up to the den's entrance and touched one of the rocks with my left hand. In my mind, I bade Luri farewell and walked away without looking back.

The four hour long walk back to the campsite went by in a haze.  
I started a fire with some gathered logs and twigs to warm up some canned soup as a starter, before eating another MRE. The food did me good and at least lifted my spirit for a little bit.  
While chewing, the monotone sounds of the forest and the rush of the turbulent water of the river close by almost hypnotized me. The rays of sunlight penetrating the forest canopy turned more yellow as the end of the day approached, producing the most beautiful colours and shapes. It made the forest look old and ripe. Bitter-sweet. Like the last warm and sunny Sunday afternoon of the Summer vacation before the new school year starts. It only added to my melancholic mood.  
I collected a heap of leafs, springy branches and plants. During the next half hour or so, I fabricated a two by one meter screen of woven twigs, branches, and leafs. With a foldable shovel, I dug out a ditch long, wide and deep enough for me to sprawl in, and be below ground level, covered the soil with leafs, and lay the screen that I made over it. And not a moment too soon. My body was exhausted after these last two days, not in the least because of the severe mental blow of this morning. I took off my clothes and crawled into my sleeping bag. My first night sleeping in the forest again. But I was alone.  
Oh how I longed for my wolf family.  
Eventually, I fell asleep.

The loud, dry snap of a breaking dead branch woke me up. I literally jumped straight up out of my sleeping bag and through the vegetation screen that I had put up as a roof and camouflage, with the machete in my left hand, and the bowie knife the right, ready to violently lash out at whatever it was that woke me.  
Sura, Akru and Lala sat a small distance away from me, eerily bathed in a ghostly blue hue by a few rays of moonlight penetrating through the forest canopy.  
They were silent, their icy cold stare penetrating my soul. I desperately tried to look away, but couldn't. Then their gaze shifted and seemed to converge in a point somewhere in the middle between me and them. A gust of wind, and the shapes of two wolves appeared in that spot. The forest went silent.  
Alexander and Luri sat right there next to each other. Silently, they stared at me with looks of pain, sorrow, worry and despair.  
Then their eyes glazed over. Their stare hollowed out.  
Bald patches appeared on their cheeks, their heads, their chests. First small, but growing in size, and meeting up. A sudden, strong gust of wind blew their fur away until all that was left was their pale, wrinkly skin. That gradually started to turn darker, first light brown, then dark brown, black, leathery. The overwhelmingly penetrating, pungent, sickening stench of rotting flesh filled the air. Their glazed eyes disappeared, leaving only eye sockets eerily staring at me. Another gust of wind flaked their skin away. I was paralyzed, unable to escape from seeing this gruesome, horrible hell.  
Their skulls appeared. Spines, rib cages, femurs, tibia's, and finally, no tissue was left. All that remained were their bones.  
Their eye sockets kept on staring at me, their jawbones slightly apart, as if they tried to say something, until a final gust of wind turned their bones to dust.

My own violent scream woke me up, and like in my nightmare, I instantly jumped up out of the ditch, my machete in my left hand.  
The contrast to my nightmare could not have been bigger. It was morning. The forest was fragrant, appeared friendly, accommodating, hospitable. The temperature was pleasant. My head spun. I collapsed back in the ditch, into a sobbing heap.  
I lay there for another hour or so. My eyes burning and sticky from tears, shocked by the nightmare my brain had composed. Even if it was all a dream, it felt and looked so real, so vivid, so detailed.  
After composing myself a bit, I got out of the ditch and put my clothing on, ate some more soup and cleaned up the area. Dug a hole, dumped the used MRE package and soup cans in it and covered it up with earth.  
I strapped the bowie knife to my right thigh, and the machete to my left and started the long hike back to Balaghat, and Shere-Khan's territory.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

The hours went by. The morning turned into afternoon, which turned into evening. My legs and feet ached. Blisters that had formed on the soles of my feet and heels constantly reminded me about how I wasn't used to walking this much any more. A minor physical nuisance compared to the aching I felt inside though.  
I decided to take a short break, and I tiredly sat down on a rock. With a grunt, I took off my boots and socks, exposing my sore feet. With the little first aid kit I had packed in my backpack, I tried to disinfect and treat the little wounds and blisters as good as I could. I decided not to put any bandages on them, because that would only make it hurt more.  
By now, I should be close to Shere-Khan's territory. I had followed the same route back as I had taken initially, parallel to the road. To my annoyance, I discovered that I was running out of food and water. I grabbed and ate the last of the MRE's that I had bought. After discarding the package, I stuffed my aching feet back in my boots, got up, and pushed on.  
The long walk provided me with time to think about everything. Again, I cursed myself for panicking when Sura threatened me. I should have known better, read his body language. Hell, I've lived with the pack for long enough to be able to read them blindly. But those years back in the human world has caused me to loose my edge. I would have to re-learn. I wou...

Three striped hyenas blocked my path.  
"Our master wants you, human", one of them said. The two others walked towards me and each grabbed one of my wrists.  
A low roar thundered through the forest. A huge tiger sat in the far distance, facing me. Too far away for me to see his eyes, but I could feel he was staring right at me.  
He got up and started to walk towards me. His eyes... The most evil, threatening glare sent shivers down my spine. He kept on staring at me while he got closer and closer, until he was right in front of me. He looked menacing. Huge. Scars all over his face and body gave him a battle-hardened look.  
He curled up his lips. "I thought I was rid of you humans when that man cub Mowgli went away years ago. But apparently I was mistaken. The deal that I made with those wolves was not to have any more humans in my forest. Those wolves have broken that truce by taking you in, and now it's time for them, the man cub, and you to pay for that."  
"How do you even know who I am?", I asked.  
"Oh, I know you. I rule this forest. That means I know everything. For what I don't see or hear myself, I have my spies everywhere acting as my eyes and ears. Let me show you something."

The two hyenas pulled me along and the third walked behind me, following Shere-Khan. A little while later, we walked up a low mound and stopped.  
The tiger looked at me and toothily grinned, before pointing his nose to a canine skeleton that was on the ground, partially hidden in between blades of long grass and fallen leafs.  
"I like to come here so every now and then to look at my trophy. The big and mighty Alexander, who defied me for all those years and thought to get away with it unpunished. Well, there's not much left of him now, is there?"  
"N-No...", I inaudibly stuttered.  
I dropped on my hands and knees, and touched, almost caressed the dirty, sandy bones that lay there.  
"He should have known better than to walk right through here, together with that coward Bagheera. He said I had no business knowing what they were doing. Everything that happens here is my business! I know the man-cub moved to the human town not far from here. They both denied they were going there. But what other reason could they have to be so far from out of their territory? Of course I now know it was you they were looking for. It were that wolf's last words before I broke his neck. That panther escaped, for now. He ran away with his tail tucked between his legs when he realized he would be next. But it won't be long before I'll crush that cat's skull between my jaws", the tiger ominously said.  
I looked up to the tiger, shaking from emotion and anger.

"Oh dear", Shere-Khan mocked, "You want to have a go at me? You fool. You're an insect, a weak ape. A little pest that I can crush whenever I want. But do not worry. You can be close to your beloved father and rot right next to his remains soon", the tiger threatened. "But not yet. I have use of you."  
"And what if you kill me. What do you think will happen? Do you know that you unleashed the inevitable when you killed those people? There will be retaliation. You'll be hunted down, killed, your skin shown off as a trophy", I hissed, doing my best to keep my voice under control.  
"So they'll send another group of four?", he chuckled. "Yeah, so terrifying! Let them all come for me! I'll rip them to shreds."  
I balled my fists. "You dumb cat. Haven't you seen what humans are capable of?"  
"Enough of that nonsense. You're mine! And I have a job for you. You will go to the human town, find Mowgli and bring him to me. My clan will escort you to the edge of the forest and wait for your return. If you aren't back with that man cub in two days, I will make sure to hunt down and kill every single wolf in this entire forest. And after I am done with that, I will come for you."  
He paused for a few moments to intimidate me by staring me in my eyes, and while doing so, he slapped against Alexander's skull with one of his big claws, causing it to roll a few meters over the ground.

This nasty, foul act of disrespect burned through to the core of my body. I could not contain my burning rage any longer.  
The hyenas that were supposed to restrain me and had let go when I fell on my knees were too late to grab me.  
I jumped up and kicked the tiger against his ribs as hard as I could. I unsheathed my knife and the machete and jumped onto him, my arms raised up high to lash out with all my strength and then bury both blades under the big feline's shoulder blades. But Shere-Khan was too fast. As if he did not even feel my kick, he turned to me, grabbed my torso between his jaws, and threw me against a rock. All went black.

"Be still, human", I heard close by. The pain of the bite wounds where Shere-Khan grabbed me, and a huge bruised spot on the left side of my flank where my body hit the rock made me come to. I opened my eyes and stared in the darkness. Night had fallen.  
"You are lucky our master needs you alive. He has ordered us to watch over you until he gets back."  
I moaned in agony when I felt a tongue lapping over my wounds.  
Thick clouds that were blocking the moon eventually moved away, allowing me to see a bit better. The shapes of the three hyenas laying next to me formed dark silhouettes against the moon lit forest.  
I raised my head to look to the hyena that spoke.  
"We will not take you to the edge of the forest and you will not go to find the man cub. We've been slaving for Shere-Khan for long enough now. We no longer want part in this. His actions will spell disaster for the jungle and every creature living in it. I've seen what humans can do when they're angered. It has to stop. Sorry for this."  
With a grunt, I worked myself up into a seated position with my arms and snapped: "Save your apologies. I don't want them. You're also responsible for what lies there on that mound!"  
"Yes. There was nothing we could do to prevent it. We also helped killing those other humans that came and tried to capture Shere-Khan. He insisted that we took part in dismembering the bodies."  
"You cowards", I snarled. "Your sorrow is too little too late. Nothing you could do to prevent it? You're with three. He's one tiger."  
The striped hyena sighed, "We're no fighters, unlike our spotted cousins. We're no match for him. If we would as much as give him a wrong look, he'd slaughter us. My clan used to be of seven. Years ago, Shere Khan cowardly attacked a man and his female man-cub who were out in the forest not too far from here. We were disgusted and outraged. We tried to subdue him, chase him away. He killed four of my mates in retaliation."

The little girl and the nurse who were walking in the road and who I drove to the hospital in Balaghat, while on my mission to find antibiotics for Sura.  
I fell quiet when the memories hit me. Visions of Sura laying there in the den in agony. The high fever burning him up. The poisoned blood running through his veins that formed a ticking time-bomb. The worrying, but also the feeling of bliss when Sura recovered. That night with him and Akru, Lala, Alexander and Luri when I was finally able to mentally become a wolf, in the safe embrace of my adoptive family.  
The hyena broke the silence that had fallen, "Can you walk?"  
"I will", I answered and grabbed a thick branch to hoist myself up. I grunted in agony when straightening myself and flinging my backpack over my back.  
"Come, then. Shere Khan won't be long, and if he finds us, it won't be good."  
The two other hyenas grabbed my wrists again, and tugged me along.

After a good twenty minutes, we stopped.  
The striped hyena turned to his two clan mates. "Hurry and go as far away from here as you can. I will stay with him, and come after you when I can."  
The two licked the hyena's nose. "Good luck, Tabaqui", one of them said, "Until we meet again".  
"Be strong, human", the other said.  
They turned around and ran away.  
"We have to go", Tabaqui gestured.  
We walked deeper into the forest for another hour in a different direction than either Balaghat, or the pack's territory, to make sure not to leave a scent mark in any of those directions, until I just could not go any further.  
"I need to rest. My body is killing me."  
"We should be far enough to take a break, I think", Tabaqui said, sniffing the air.  
A shock went through me when a distinct, distant, deep and loud roar resonated through the forest.

"Shere Khan has killed", the hyena sighed with a look of defeat on his face.  
"Does this mea..."  
"It means he has found my clan mates."  
I couldn't help but to start feel sympathetic for the hyena. Surely he had blood on his hands, or muzzle, or whatever. But he had helped me, and his clan-mates now paid the ultimate price for that.  
"We have to go further, human", he decisively said.  
The striped hyena lead the way, and as best as I could, I followed in his steps.  
While walking, the pain subsided a bit. My wounds were still bleeding, which was good. It would at least wash out the dirt. I would see if I could sort something out later on.

In a flash, a shim flew by and turned around in front of us.  
"Tabaqui", the silhouette snarled, and stepped closer, "Finally I can have my revenge on you."  
"Bagheera?", I asked, after I recognized the voice.  
"Yes. It's me", he answered. "It seems you've grown bored with the comforts of your human existence and came back to where you think you belong?", he somewhat bitterly asked. "And what are you doing alongside this useless waste of life?"  
Tabaqui had backed off a few steps. Bagheera wanted to close the gap between himself and the hyena, but I stepped in between.  
"What do you think you are doing?", the black panther angrily asked. "I have a score to settle with him. This is not your fight, stay out of it!"  
"If you hurt him, it will be", I snapped, my left hand grabbing the handle of the machete on my right thigh.  
The black panther raised his head astonished, before giving me a hard and sinister stare.  
"You defend that filthy coward? I can't believe my ears and eyes. Do you know what happened after you disappeared? Do you know what he and is clan-mates are responsible for?"  
"Yes... I do. Shere-Khan captured me when I came through here on my way from the pack's territory. He showed me Alexander's remains."  
"So you know", the panther softly said. "This hyena here is one of his minions, and thus bears responsibility. He and his clan were huge pests and a menace for the jungle in the time that Mowgli still lived with the pack. They intimidated and pestered in Shere-Khan's name."  
Tabaqui looked down to the ground.  
"Yeah, feel ashamed, you useless sack of meat and bones", Bagheera snarled and turned back to me, "Why do you even tolerate him anywhere near you after what he has done? Why is he even still alive? He's no match for you."  
I took a step towards Bagheera so he could more clearly see me.  
"Oh...", he stuttered.

"After showing me Alexander's bones, Shere-Khan disgraced his remains. I lost control over myself and went for him, but he was too fast and too strong."  
"How did you even survive that?", Bagheera asked while shaking his head.  
"He needed me alive for bringing him Mowgli. He already went to the human town and killed Mowgli's guardian a while back. People will retaliate and invade the forest to hunt Shere-Khan down. So now he can't come even close to the edge of the forest. He grabbed me and flung me against a rock. He left me there and went away. Tabaqui and his clan-mates were told to watch over me until he got back. But they took me away to safety."  
Bagheera stared at Tabaqui for a while, "And where are your mates now?"  
"The hyena lowered his ears - "They're dead. We parted ways, and they probably ran into Shere-Khan when he returned."  
"How do you know they're dead?"  
"When you live with a tiger for as long as I have, you learn things. We heard him roar in a way he only does after having made a kill."  
The panther sank in thoughts for while and sighed.  
"Come with me, you two. We have a lot to talk about. But not here. We need to hide. Shere-Khan won't be likely to rest before he has his jaws around our necks."


	7. Chapter 7

7.

We walked and walked through the dark forest. It was past midnight now and it felt as if we were walking forever. I opened the side-pocket of my backpack where I kept my GPS receiver and turned it on. I was on unfamiliar terrain. During the months that I lived with the pack over two years ago, I had never really ventured outside of the the hunting grounds and the pack's territory, except for my trips to Balaghat.  
"Ah yes, I remember you having such a contraption. Be quick though. That thing is very bright", Bagheera said while holding short, allowing me to catch up.  
"What is it?", Tabaqui asked.  
With a hand, I shielded the illuminated display. "It enables me to navigate and see where I am. And it shows me that we're no where close to anything I recognize. Where are you taking us, Bagheera? We're not anywhere near the pack's territory."  
"Going back there would be very unwise. Shere-Khan most likely is tracking us. Last thing I'd want is him to follow us to the pack's territory." Bagheera looked away, "And well, I've not been there since I left with Alexander to go look for you."  
"Sura said you both disappeared. I was worried Shere-Khan got you as well. But what happened? Why didn't you return to the pack?"  
The panther sighed, "Like I said, we have things to talk about. But we have to move on now. We have to cross a stream a bit further on, which will at least make our scent trail harder to follow for that tiger. After crossing it, it's only a short walk further."

I dunked my head in the fresh water, which brought me back to my senses. After an invigorating drink, I waded through to the bank on the other side while holding my back-pack above my head. Bagheera and Tabaqui followed behind.  
"We should be a little bit safer now", Bagheera said while shaking himself dry.  
With a towel I took out of my backpack, I dried most of the water off of my body and put my clothes back on.  
"You surely are carrying more than you did before", the cat remarked.  
"Yes. I had a chance to properly prepare myself this time, in stead of finding myself lost after almost being beaten and stabbed to death."  
"Beaten and stabbed to death?", Tabaqui asked.  
"We'll catch up when we get to my den", Bagheera said. "This little river, you know. When you follow it up-stream, you'll end up at the lake and waterfall where your den is."  
"Was. I don't think I will ever go back there", I softly said.  
Bagheera looked at me in silence for a few moments before gesturing with his head, "Let's walk the last stretch to my den. And um. There will be a surprise there."  
"Uhg. Please. I'm not in a mood for more surprises. I've had too many now. And bad ones at that."  
"This one will be alright, I think. Come on."

We continued for a while longer, until a big, red wolf appeared from between the trees.  
"This is your surprise?", I asked Bagheera.  
A few meters from us, the wolf stopped. "What is this Bagheera? You said you'd be out on the hunt."  
"These two crossed my path."  
"Tabaqui...", the red wolf snarled while looking to the striped hyena.  
"It's alright. He has helped us, Vermillion."  
The red wolf sarcastically smirked, "Helped? Him? Now that's a first! And this human... Is this that human you've talked about so often? He doesn't really look that much."  
The panther nodded. "Yes. That's him."  
"This is some pray you return with", he looked at me while grinning mockingly, "Half dead prey, even."  
"Leave him alone", Bagheera cut the red wolf off. "Your sarcasm isn't really helping."  
"I guess the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree", I grumbled.  
"What do you mean by that, human?", Vermillion agitatedly asked.  
"Lala", I replied. "You're her father, right?"  
The red wolf stared at me for a while, and without saying anything, he turned around and walked away.  
Bagheera shook his head slowly. "Come, you two. Follow me."

We walked to a dense collection of older trees and brushes. Through a narrow, twisty path we came to an area which was completely overgrown. The pathway arced down and lead us to an area below ground level. There were two dens there, both small natural caves that were eroded out of the rocks by tree roots over the course of centuries. The entrances were on either side of the path which ended in a rocky wall, covered in thick roots. It was a bit wider there, giving it the impression of being a common area in between the entrances of both dens. I picked a spot against the rocky wall, placed my backpack against it, and used it as a back-rest to lean against. My eyelids steadily grew heavier.

Bagheera nudged my arm, waking me out of my slumber. "You need sleep. I'll take you to my den."  
For one more time, I hoisted myself upright to walk to the entrance of Bagheera's den.  
Tabaqui followed for a few steps, but was stopped by Vermillion, who gave the hyena a hard stare. "You've always been a pain and a nuisance to us and you were Shere-Khan's minion and bear responsibility for some terrible things. I trust Bagheera's word on that you've had a change of heart, else you'd have been dead the second I lay eyes on you. But that does not mean that I trust you. You won't set paw in either of our dens."  
Tabaqui splayed his ears, and lay down with a disappointed sigh, "I... I'll sleep here then."  
I wanted to protest to Vermillion about locking the striped hyena out, but before I could say anything, the red wolf had disappeared into his den on the opposite side.  
The panther tugged on my left hand. "Come."

On my hands and knees, I crawled into Bagheera's den with the panther right behind me.  
A rocky outcrop which was in the wall of the den made a good improvised cloth hanger, and I undressed.  
The black panther sprawled on the ground and invitingly raised one of his front paws.  
I took up the invitation and I sprawled on the soft leafs and other vegetation that were spread out on the floor of the den next to the feline.  
The black panther maneuvered the upper half of his body on my chest very carefully as not to hurt me, and placed his paws on either side of my head.  
The sensation of his soft, thick fur on my skin made me shiver. I looked up in his bright eyes.  
"I have missed you so, so much", he softly whispered. "I am so glad you are back, after all this time."  
My eyes burned. Bagheera licked the tears off of my cheeks with his rough tongue. "And I can see that you're glad to be back", he smiled.  
Tenderly, the big feline began to wash me, licking up crusts of dried blood, and cleaning my wounds. The stinging pain when his tongue rubbed over the punctures, claw marks and the sore black spot where my body hit the rock made me cringe, but the slow, rhythmic brushing of the panther's tongue over my skin soothed me. Before long, I was fast asleep.

A raspy tongue in my face woke me up. Dazed, I looked around the den. Daylight shone through the thick cover of vegetation, bathing the den in a faint light. "Just like old times", he smiled. "You've slept like a cub."  
"Oof. I was exhausted. I've not slept properly in days", I yawned.  
"Let's go sit outside and see if the others are awake."  
Tabaqui was awake, but was still laying down with his head between his front paws. Vermillion sat opposite of him, grooming his red fur. When he spotted us crawling out of the then, he got up and walked over to greet Bagheera. The feline sat down and let the red wolf lick and sniff at his teeth and tongue before he rubbed his head against the wolf's flank and chest.  
After sharing cuddles with the feline, Vermillion sat and leaned against me. He lifted his right front paw and positioned himself over me, his paws on either side of my shoulders.  
I closed my eyes, the wolf's fur making me feel all snug and warm, as I wasn't clothed yet.  
"I'm Lala's father, yes. Do you know her well?"  
"Yes. I miss her. I miss her a lot."  
Vermillion rested his muzzle on my head. "So do I. I've not seen her since she was a cub."  
Bagheera, wanting to give us some time to get acquainted, said to Tabaqui "Make yourself useful and help me with the hunt. You two need to feed."  
The striped hyena looked at Bagheera for a few seconds before yawning, standing up, stretching his limbs, and following the panther out of the den area, leaving me and Vermillion alone.

I held the wolf's paws with my hands. Vermillion's scent was quite similar to Lala's, and he reminded me of her.  
"I'm sorry I was so cold to you."  
I looked up at the wolf. "What about Tabaqui?", I asked.  
"It's hard for me to forgive and forget. Especially after what has happened."  
"He has shown heart to me", I said. "He no longer does Shere-Khan's bidding."  
"It'll need time", the red wolf said softly while nuzzling and licking my ears.  
"You like this, don't you?", he smiled after a little while longer.  
"A lot", I exhaled.  
Vermillion reached down, opened his muzzle and held my nose and mouth in between his lips.  
Taken by surprise at first, I soon gave in when that familiar, wonderful feeling came back after so long. The feeling of being one of them. Connecting, bonding, belonging.  
I inhaled his scent and licked the inside of the the red wolf's muzzle. Vermillion then let go and began to lick my mouth. I parted my lips, and the wolf took his turn to taste me.  
"You do speak our language", he smiled before tongue-bathing my face some more.  
"He's also a bit of a cuddle monster", Bagheera, who had just returned grinned.  
"Affection is important in a pack", Vermillion said. "Did you catch any prey, Bagheera?"  
"Tabaqui actually did. He's outside of the den area waiting for us."

The red wolf got back on his feet and I, now deprived of the blissful warmth of his fur, crawled into Bagheera's den to put my clothes on.  
I realized how long it had been since I actually ate from a fresh kill. It would be a challenge for me to stomach again. This was one of the only parts of pack life I had never truly learned to deal with. I had to, though. No kill meant no food. And I needed food, fast.  
The hyena had killed a deer. He stood over it waiting, his muzzle and chest covered in the animal's blood.  
"Claim your share, Tabaqui", Bagheera said. "You've deserved it."  
After a nod from Vermillion, the striped hyena dug his jaws in the flank of the animal.  
Bagheera grinned when seeing the look of revolt appearing on my face. "Not used to this any more, are you?"  
Vermillion nudged me towards the kill. "You're not going to eat?"  
I squatted down next to Tabaqui over the carcass, trying hard to ignore the scent, sight, and the moist, smooching sounds the hyena made while tearing and shredding off large bits of meat, drew my knife, and cut a slab out of the deer's hind quarters.  
"That's all I need. Please, eat", I said to Bagheera and Vermillion.

I wandered off, cleared a patch of rocky ground, and collected a few twigs and branches to start a fire like I've done so often before. With the bowie knife, I filleted the steak, and positioned the pieces of meat on the tops of little sharpened branches at the right height above the flames. A flat surfaced rock had the right dimensions for a make-shift plate, and I wiped it clean as best as I could. After a few minutes, the meat was done and I dug in. With the hunger that I had, it didn't take me very long to finish the pound and a half worth of meat that I had cut away.  
With a thick branch, I extinguished the fire, and spread out the ambers over the rocky surface, bashing them out with a rock.

All that was left of the deer were bones. Bagheera, Tabaqui and Vermillion had returned to the den area.  
With an uncomfortably full stomach, I joined them and sat down next to my back pack.  
"I can't think about any more food now", I exhaled, softly belching under my breath.  
"If you're thirsty, there's a small stream of water a few minutes walk from our dens", Bagheera said. "I can show you."  
"I'm alright for the time being, but thanks", I replied"  
A few minutes of silence followed.  
"So tell us. What has happened to you? You just disappeared after you left to go find and bring Mowgli", Bagheera broke the silence.  
I stared into the void for a few moments and inhaled.  
"After Alexander asked me to go and find Mowgli, I drove to the human town in the car. Shortly after I got there, I was arrested. Or erm, captured, as you would call it."

"Captured? By who?", Bagheera asked.  
"Authorities. Police. The remains of the poachers I killed were found washed ashore. I was a suspect and was imprisoned."  
"That's terrible", the panther sighed. "Though better than what we feared. We thought that Shere-Khan got you for some reason."  
"No. I was locked up in a cage, like you were. For weeks. A double murder in this country carries a death penalty at worst, or a life in prison at best. I realized that I would probably never see you or anyone of the pack ever again. Thankfully the guy in charge there appreciated that I had done his work. Those two poachers were criminals and wanted for all kinds of wrongdoings. He made a deal with a judge, and in stead of execution or life-long imprisonment, I got deported back to my home country. That didn't really make me feel any better though. For my part, I might as well have been dead. It would be even harder to get back to the pack from the other side of this planet than it would have been from a prison here."  
Bagheera shook his head. "That explains why you were gone for so long. How did you get back here though?"  
"I pretty much picked my human life back up where I left. After two years, I read about Shere-Khan killing Mowgli's human caretaker and decided that I had to get back as quickly as I could. I pretty much abandoned my life back there. Reading about what happened just hit too close to home and I felt my place wasn't in human society, but here with the pack."  
"Or so I thought", I added bitterly.

"You said you came from the pack's grounds when we met up yesterday. That surprised me. I mean, everyone must have been very happy you returned. So why didn't you stay there?", Bagheera asked. "Specially Sura would have been happy. He it took so hard when you didn't come back."  
I clenched my jaws.  
"Did I say something wrong?", Bagheera worriedly asked.  
"I... After I got back to the human town, I made my way to the pack's grounds as quickly as I could. But when I came there, I found the area deserted. No wolf had been there for a long time. I wandered around for a while, until I found my way to the den."  
"The den?", Vermillion asked.  
"Luri and Alexander's den", Bagheera explained.  
"The entrance was sealed with rocks, earth, and vegetation. Sura showed up behind me and was very cold and stark. He blamed me for everything. He said there was nothing left for me, and told me to leave. He came across as very hostile. I didn't recognize him like that at all. It dawned on me that if Alexander never returned, Luri's remains had to be be inside, and that the den now was her tomb."  
"That is... truly horrible news", the black panther sighed.  
"Sura didn't say a word about her though. It still puzzles me. He said my suicidal desire to go after Shere-Khan would not change anything. I questioned whether he cared about me being alive or dead. It's then when things got bad. He jumped on me, baring his fangs. I felt threatened and reached for my knife. He then told me he'd kill me if we'd ever meet again."

Bagheera shook his head. "You've saved his life twice. One time when pulling him out of harms way when that buffalo charged, and the second time when his wounds got infected. A wolf NEVER, EVER forgets that. You should have known that. And above all, he's your brother! Let me explain a few things about wolf behaviour that you should know. When angry or hurt, wolves can be vicious, even to those they care about. They'll snap and bite, but never seriously injure one another. Sura probably was hurt when you said he didn't care about you, and wanted to rub that in. But you were blind to that and crossed a line you shouldn't have crossed."  
"And how do you think I felt?!", I exclaimed. "Put yourself in my position. I travel halfway across this planet to get back to those I love, only to find my home deserted, my adoptive mother presumably dead, get blamed for all the misery, and get told to go away and never come back by my own brother the moment I see him. How could I interpret that in any other way than hostility?"  
"By thinking like a wolf", Bagheera replied.  
"Try to live in human society for over two years, and see how sharp you are when you return."  
"Don't forget that I did."

"Akela did take you under his wing, Bagheera. You were helpless when he found you", Vermillion said.  
"I owe much to that pack", the panther said while looking down. "And I've turned my back to it."  
"What happened?", I asked. "Why didn't you return? Shere-Khan called you a coward and said you ran away the moment things turned bad."  
"Of course he'd say it like that", the black panther angrily said.  
"I fought him for all I was worth. But he just ignored me, as if I was some pesky insect on his back. No matter how hard I clawed him, how hard I bit him. It seemed to have no effect on him. He had his mind set on Alexander. And well, after it was all over, I could either give in to my anger and emotion, continue to fight Shere-Khan and suffer an equal fate, or make a run for it, and escape with my life."  
"So you where there when he...?", I hesitatingly asked.  
"Yes, I was. It's etched in my brain and it haunts me to this day."  
A long silence followed.

My heart raced, and pounded in my head. Sweat ran down my face. Raging anger boiled up again, my mind playing imaginary visions of Alexander's dying moments, and images of his rolling skull in front of my eyes. My muscles tensed up, my fists balled, my body ready to leap and lash out to where my hatred got focused on.  
Soft fur against me, rhythmic drafts of warm breath on my skin and a rough tongue brushing over my face snapped me out of the building rage in time. Tabaqui had backed up against the rocky wall with his tail between his legs and a look of raw fear in his eyes.  
I face-palmed and leaned against Bagheera.  
"We're both carrying this burden, my human friend", he soothingly said.  
When I looked up again, Tabaqui no longer was in the den area.  
"That look in your eyes", Vermillion said, "It scared him. And to be honest, I wasn't feeling very comfortable either."  
"I'm so sorry", I sighed. "Tabaqui didn't deserve this. I'm here mostly thanks to him."  
"I'll see if I can have a word with him", Bagheera said, and the black panther walked off.  
Vermillion stared to the rocky wall. "I'm still struggling with him. You and Bagheera are suffering because of recent events he and his clan-mates had a part in."  
"Their participation wasn't voluntarily. Their decision to defy Shere-Khan and help me did not come without sacrifice", I replied. "That tiger killed his clan-mates in retaliation. He has nothing anymore. No family, no clan, nothing."  
"That tiger is causing too much pain and misery in this forest", Vermillion sighed.  
"Not just the forest. He killed Mowgli's caretaker. It's a matter of time before hunters will come here to hunt him down."  
"I don't like that idea at all. Humans should stay in their towns and settlements."  
"They want revenge as badly as we do."

Tabaqui came back into the den area, followed by Bagheera. Without looking at us, the hyena walked back to where he was before, and lay down.  
Bagheera looked at Vermillion and gestured with his head. The wolf shook his head and sighed, walked over to the striped hyena and sat down next to him.  
Tabaqui looked up at Vermillion in surprise. The wolf gave the hyena's nose a soft lick, then his cheeks and muzzle. Being a bit shocked at first, Tabaqui soon surrendered to the wolf's affection and rolled on his back. Vermillion reached over him and tongue bathed the hyena's face, chest and stomach.  
The hyena got back on his legs and looked me in my eyes. A look of sorrow, regret. But also concern, and fear.  
I sighed. I felt awful. Bad. Horrible.  
Bagheera nudged Tabaqui towards me until he stood in front of me.  
Slowly, I extended my left arm and lay my hand on his right shoulder blade. "You and your clan saved me from Shere Kahn, Tabaqui. I'll be forever thankful for that."  
The hyena exhaled and leaned into me. I embraced him and buried my face in his black and white fur.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

Tabaqui was sound asleep against my right flank with his head on my chest. The stress of helping me escape from Shere-Khan, loosing his clan-mates, and everything that happened after had worn him out. Finally he could let his guard down.  
"So...How did you escape, Bagheera?", I asked.

Bagheera yawned and stretched out his limbs. "After killing Alexander, Shere-Khan was too short on breath after the fight to immediately come after me, and the hyenas weren't able to climb up the trees. I made my escape by climbing up and jump from tree to tree. After this defeat, I couldn't bring myself to go back to the pack. I felt like a failure. Also, I did not want to provide Shere-Khan with an excuse to come to the pack's territory and reap havoc. I couldn't live with myself the first days afterwards. But I realized that I had done what I could. I had made up my mind not to return, and to move this area of the forest, well out of the way of both the pack's and Shere-Khan's territories. A few weeks later while I was hunting, I saw Vermillion chase a deer and I helped him make the kill. After reacquainting, we decided to team up."  
"I'm glad we did. After all those years of solitude, it was nice to have a friend and be back in a pack. Even if it is a very small one.", the red wolf said to Bagheera before turning to me. "If you want, you are welcome to join us."  
"Thanks, that means a lot to me. But I can't. I want to get to that tiger before hunters from the human town will track him down and kill him."  
Bagheera looked at me, "You've experienced his strength up close and personal once. Wasn't that enough? He let you live, don't forget that. If he didn't want to use you to get to Mowgli, you'd have been shred to pieces. And besides, look at you! You're injured. It's best for you to stay with us, and let the humans take care of it."  
"I want revenge, Bagheera. I want to look that cat in his eyes while I ram my knife through his heart."  
"We all want revenge", the panther sighed.  
"Don't be stupid. You're no match for him", Vermillion said. "Hasn't that become obvious to you? How more badly does he have to hurt you before it does?"  
"I'm no match for him all by myself, no. But with others?"  
"You're asking us to help you fight him?", Vermillion asked.  
"That will only bring more pain and sorrow. I don't want to loose any of you to that tiger. I have lost enough. And so have you", Bagheera softly said.  
"Well, there's another way for a human to kill a tiger", I said.  
"NO". Bagheera shook his head after realizing what I meant. "That goes against the Law of the Jungle. You can't do that."  
"What do you mean?", Vermillion asked me.  
"A shotgun. A rifle."  
"Ah. Those are such horrible things. I've heard of them. It can be used from huge distances. There's not even a fight. It's just not right. It's disrespectful."

"I have no respect for that tiger. I despise him. And does he keep to The Law?", I angrily replied. "And I'm human. The Law does not apply to me."  
"You are a member of a wolf pack that inhabits this part of the forest. There for The Law applies to you as much as it does to us!", Bagheera sternly said. "And whoever breaks it, will face the consequences."  
"If that means this forest will be rid of that verminous pest, and if you care about that law more than me, I'll happily bear the consequences."  
Bagheera looked to the ground downhearted. "You know very well that I care a lot about you. You've saved me from those poachers. I would have been dead and skinned if it wasn't for you. But The Law of The Jungle is important. Just think about your human society and what would happen if no one would live according to your human laws?"  
"If someone would have killed my human mother or father, I don't know if I would, Bagheera. Shere-Khan took the life of someone I cared deeply for. Alexander was like a father to me."

After a few minutes of silence, the feline stood up and nuzzled me. "You go do what you have to do, my friend. But I can't and won't join you if you choose to go down that path."  
I embraced the panther and held him close.  
"You're leaving?", Tabaqui, who had woken up when I reached out to hug Bagheera, worriedly asked.  
"Yes. I'm going to go back to the human settlement to get what I need to kill that tiger."  
"But that will take you straight through his territory. He'll be waiting for you, if he won't catch you earlier! And you won't stand a chance with your injuries."  
"I am sure that I can navigate my way around. And about my injuries... I've dealt with that before", I said while looking at Bagheera.  
Vermillion came to sit next to me and licked my face. "Whatever happens, I hope to see you again. You're being foolish and stubborn to go take up that tiger alone, but if that's your destiny, it is how it is."

I leaned into the red wolf and sighed. "I surely hope to get back. Or to make things good with Sura and the pack."  
The wolf idly stared at the rocky wall. "I wonder if we could try to make our way to them, Bagheera. I wonder who the pack's alpha is now."  
"I think that Sura took it upon himself to lead", I answered, "At least, judging from how he behaved. I would so much want to talk to him about what happened and tell him I'm sorry for reacting how I did", I sighed.  
"Well we can at least go there and see how things are", Bagheera said. He turned to the hyena. "I'm afraid you can't come, Tabaqui. I don't think you'd get a friendly welcome. But feel free to consider our den as your new home during our absence. At least you should be pretty safe from Shere-Khan here. We've never seen or heard anything of him for as long as we've lived here."  
The striped hyena licked my cheeks and mouth. "Please, be safe. Don't waste your life."  
I ran my fingers through Tabaqui's scruffy mane and rubbed my cheek against his muzzle. "I will try. Thank you."  
After a final, long goodbye hug from Bagheera, Vermillion and Tabaqui, I grabbed my backpack and made my way out of the den area, back to the stream where I took the opportunity to wash myself and re-fill my water supply.

The sun had set. Another long hike through the night. My feet were still a bit sore, but the day of rest and the good night sleep that I had, had done me good. The little pain that I felt while walking was tolerable. My torso however, still was very tender, which was annoying me. The bite and claw wounds on my chest were crusted over, and not infected. I had to thank Tabaqui for licking those wounds right after my fight with Shere-Khan. Hyena saliva has very powerful anti-bacterial properties. They would all heal up to become impressive scars.  
'Where and how on Earth would I be able to buy a rifle in Balaghat?', I wondered. While cursing my impulsive decision, I turned my GPS receiver on to have a look at the map and plot a route that would circumvent Shere-Khan's territory as much as possible. To my relief there was a more or less straight route from my position to the outskirts of Balaghat without crossing into the tiger's territory, unlike what Tabaqui feared. It would take me through some more unfamiliar and unexplored areas.

In the pale blue light of a small LED torch, I checked the contents of my wallet. There was enough left to at least buy more supplies. I wasn't very hungry yet. but that would certainly be very different after walking all the way back to Balaghat. Maybe I should look into booking a cheap room there for a few nights. I'd rather sleep under a roof than having to camp out at the edge of the forest, with the risk of being found by trackers or police.  
The forest was quiet and stark. The terrain was a lot rockier and more hilly here, which made navigating a lot more difficult and tiring. Five hours later, I decided to take a break and I sat down on the soft forest floor. Because it wasn't as far from Vermillion and Bagheera's den to the town's outskirts than it was from the pack's territory, it shouldn't be very long before reaching the edge of the forest. After a long rest, I continued on.

The map on my GPS receiver was detailed enough to show hotels, bigger stores, and inns. I decided on a hostel, which usually are very affordable. Just a bed and a shower, that was all that I needed for the few days I hoped it would take me to sort myself out. Heck. I didn't even think about regulation regarding firearms. Knowing how difficult it was to officially obtain a firearm in the Netherlands, I had little hope that it would be easier here in India. Maybe illegally then? I would not have a clue how, without having any contacts. I grumbled. Shere-Khan killed that group of four, but their remains were found, and surely the weapons they carried were taken back. And I'd be tracked down by the tiger before I'd get close to where he attacked them.  
Dawn had broken when I reached the town's outskirts. I took the machete and bowie knife off of my belt and put them my backpack to avoid trouble.  
The claustrophobic feeling caused by the narrow streets, alleyways, relentless noise and exhaust fumes hit me like a brick wall. I navigated to the hostel that I decided on earlier, ignoring the good few odd stares I got from various people in the streets because of my rather untidy and wild appearance. The hostel was close to the center of town, and I was happy to find it was already open.

I greeted the woman at reception who, thankfully, replied to me in English, "You look like you've been out in the jungle!. You know that there's a dangerous tiger on the loose there, right?", she asked obnoxiously loud.  
The few guests who were having breakfast in the hostel's small restaurant area behind me looked at me. Annoyed by this unwanted attention, I nodded my head. "Yes, I'm a professional tracker. I'd like a single room for a few days so that I can rest a bit, please."  
The lady gave me a form. I filled in the standard required fields with my name and such, and handed it back over.  
"Oh my god! You're Matthew De Berg", she almost gasped. "No wonder that they asked you to help out. Well, you get yourself a good rest then. Here's the key to your room. It's the only room we have with an en-suite shower and toilet. It's on the second floor."  
While doing my best to fake a smile, I thanked her, grabbed the key, and turned around. The people who were staring at me quickly got back to their breakfast and morning coffee, except for one. A younger man, probably in his late teens or early twenties at most kept on staring at me from behind his plate of porridge and his glass of milk. I gave him the standard polite nod and walked to the staircase.  
Literally five seconds after I placed my backpack on the floor in my room, there was a knock on the door.  
Tired and annoyed, I opened the door to find the young man who was staring at me downstairs standing in front of me.  
"Sorry, but I'm exhausted. I need sleep if you don't mind", I said while trying to hide my annoyance.  
"You are the man who spent six months in the jungle a few years ago after almost being killed. But you survived."  
"Yes. Everyone knows that here, it seems."  
"And the black panther you saved from those poachers."  
"Yes, what about it?", I asked.

"Bagheera", he replied.


	9. Chapter 9

9.

I gave the guy an inquisitive look. I had taken great care in remaining as vague as possible and not to share any details about where I had been, and who I had met during my stay in the forest.  
"So you know the panther's name. Now that is interesting, as I made sure not to share any details with anyone regarding my stay in the jungle."  
"Of course I know his name", he smiled. "I used to live in the jungle."  
"Mowgli?", I asked.  
"Yes. I've been curious about you ever since I heard you survived those months in the jungle two years ago."  
"Ah. Well, sorry if I appeared unkind. I've been through a lot the last days. So... Now after meeting you, it's not very likely that my brain will allow me to sleep anyway. I'm going to grab a coffee and then we can talk."  
The hot, black liquid did me good, even if it wasn't the best coffee I recalled having. The few slices of bread with ham that I also got downstairs didn't last very last either.  
Mowgli grinned. "You're hungry."  
"The last food I ate was over a day ago, and I've had a long hike to here. But yes, Bagheera", I continued while eagerly chewing away the bread. "He saved my life two and a half years ago. I was half dead after dealing with the poachers you probably heard about, and he brought me to a wolf pack who took me in as one of their own. That is how I survived those six months.  
Mowgli sighed. "My mother and father. My brothers. I miss them."  
"As do I. Luri and Alexander looked after me. They often told me how they missed you, and so did Akru and Sura."  
"I'm sorry", Mowgli said while rubbing his eyes. I walked to the bathroom and got him a few sheets of tissue.  
I know how you feel when you say that you miss your family. On one day, Luri asked me if I wanted to be her and Alexander's son, and brother of Sura and Akru."  
He looked at me amazed shortly, before flying around my neck to hug me. "That makes us brothers! This makes me so happy", he smiled, his cheeks still wet from tears. "But why are you sad? Didn't you just come from them?"

"Things... Have changed. And not for the better", I said while looking to the ground.  
Mowgli saw the pained expression on my face and got worried. "What's wrong then? What has happened?  
I took another sip of coffee and told Mowgli everything that happened the previous days. From how I read about Shere-Khan killing his guardian, how I got here, what happened between me and Sura, and when Shere-Khan got me, meeting Tabaqui, Bagheera and Vermillion, and my hike back to Balaghat.  
Especially hearing about the death of Alexander, his adoptive father, really got to him in a bad way.  
He broke down and went away for a few hours to process it. That left me in my room by myself, feeling miserable for hurting him so badly. But what could I do?  
And every time I talked about it, I hurt myself as well. Every time, everything was played back in front of my eyes, in brilliant high definition. It cost me a lot of energy not to give in to another explosion caused by my raging anger this time, as it would most probably result in me smashing up and demolishing most of the room, and ending up in a lot of trouble because of it. This was why I wanted to kill Shere-Khan myself so badly. It would put those feelings to rest, satisfying my aching lust for revenge. Just hearing about his death by the hands of someone else wouldn't.  
After a long, hot shower, I let myself fall on the bed. The excitement and anticipation from meeting Mowgli had ebbed away now, and I felt worn out.

Later that day, a few loud knocks on my door woke me out of a dreamless sleep. When I opened the door and saw Mowgli again, I was shocked.  
His eyes were red and bloodshot from hours of crying. With effort, I swallowed away the lump that had appeared in my throat and invited him back in.  
We both sat down on my bed.  
"I'm so sorry for this. Everything went wrong. I should never had left them to go find you that day. Maybe Sura was right", I sighed. "The reason I came back to Balaghat now is to get a shotgun somehow and kill that damn tiger. He is after you, me, Bagheera, Tabaqui... And I am sure he won't stop there. Surely there is a manhunt being organized, but they can't seem to track him down. He's clever and cunning. It will be easier for me to find him. He wants my blood. So the moment I'll be in his territory he'll find me, and all I'll have to do is wait for him, aim and pull the trigger."  
Mowgli had managed to compose himself and lay a hand on my shoulder. "That is not the right way, brother. Shere-Khan lives in the jungle, where The Law of the Jungle applies. Even if he breaks it all the time himself, he should be dealt with accordingly."  
I grabbed my head with my hands. "I can't win a fight with him one on one, with my bare hands. I've been there. I don't care much about a law. I just want to kill him."  
"Please don't let your hunger for revenge blind you. that will only bring more anger and sorrow." Mowgli had both his hands on my shoulders. It almost felt as if Akru or Sura was sitting next to me. The same tenderness... I truly felt the wolf that was inside of him.  
We sat like that for a while.

"I left the jungle because of a truce I made with Shere-Khan. He would leave the pack alone, and not set paw in their territory if I would go live with the humans. I agreed to those harsh terms out of love for my family. When he killed my guardian, I got very scared and asked if I could live closer to the center of town, further from the forest. I've been offered to stay here until the foundation will find something else for me. But now, I feel that all doesn't matter any more. I want to go back to my family. I passionately hate Shere-Khan, especially after what you told happened, don't get me wrong. But I value the prospect of seeing and being with my family again over the satisfaction of seeing Shere-Khan dead, even after what he has done."  
I walked to the window of the room to let my thoughts wander, while idly staring to the little court-yard two stories down, and the men sitting there enjoying some beer and food in the afternoon sun.  
"You're a better man than I am, Mowgli. Ever since my confrontation with Shere-Khan, I've been struggling with feelings of intense hate and anger, had terrible nightmares and rages. But he has done so many more terrible things to you."  
"But I am a wolf, Matthew. I've only lived among humans for a few years now. I've learned a lot from and about them, but I'll never really become one. We are a member of the same wolf pack. That makes you a wolf as much as I am. Try to think like a wolf. For a wolf, the pack is all that matters. Nothing should come in between. And definitely not Shere-Khan. He isn't worth it."  
I exhaled and stared at my feet.  
Mowgli pulled me to the side and playfully rubbed his right cheek against mine.

"I need a break. Let's get some dinner", I suggested. "Is the food tolerable here? Or do we have to find a place on the street to eat?"  
"I believe it's Thursday today", Mowgli replied. "Curry day."  
"OK, I'm sold. I'll buy you."  
Mowgli chuckled and we walked downstairs.  
"Now why am I -not- surprised to see you two together? The two jungle-boys!", the reception lady trumpeted through the hallway as we entered the restaurant area.  
"Is she always this obnoxious?", I asked Mowgli.  
"She likes to call me wolfyboy", he smirked. "She's not unkind. But yeah. That."  
"Oh, God. Better keep quiet that we're wolf brothers then, or she'll probably go hysteric."  
Four glasses of Lassi later, I had struggled halfway through my bowl of proper Indian Chicken Vindaloo.  
"Don't try to hide your tears, white man. You don't know what chili is!", the reception lady, now turned cook and waitress, joked while putting the fifth glass of Lassi in front of me. "Take an example of Wolfyboy here!"  
With a slight sheepish look on my face, I scooped up another mouthful of the scorching hot curry as stoic as I could.  
The lady laughed out loud, and threw her damp kitchen towel over my head before leaving us at peace. "Here, it's of more use to you than me at this moment!"

"Ow!", I exclaimed after swallowing down the last spoonful. "This surely is pushing my boundaries. It almost hurts more than being bitten by Shere-Khan", I joked while using a piece of naan bread to dip up some of the delicious sauce. "Hmm. This actually gives me a good idea.''  
The lady came back to our table to take the empty bowls and glasses away and gave me a teasing smile. "Well, well. Emptied your bowl. Good boy! I will tell you a little secret here. I did add more chilies than I normally do, just because I wanted to be evil! But you persevered. As a reward, the food will be on the house!"  
"That is very generous of you", I smiled. "And yes, it was painfully hot. Could you bring my friend and me a beer?", I asked while looking at Mowgli, who politely refused.  
"I'll have a glass of milk, thanks."  
"OK, one beer and a glass of milk then. And oh, could you make a good amount of chili-paste with your hottest peppers?"  
"You're feeling adventurous enough to go use that in your cooking?", she asked with a grin.  
"Uh, well, I might use it as a little nasty surprise for someone. Can you make two equally big portions?"  
"Oh, that is so naughty! I like that! I will be back in a bit."  
Mowgli gave me a curious look after the lady brought our drinks and went back to the kitchen. "What are you going to do with that?"  
Just something we can use in defense against Shere-Khan in case it's needed. If one of us is able to throw a good blob of that paste in his eyes, he'll be done for. He won't be able to see anything for a long while.

Twenty minutes later, the lady came back with two plastic sandwich bags filled with a red substance. "Here you go. Be very careful with that! Wash your hands thoroughly after even handling these bags. Especially if you have to go to the toilet", she added with a wink.  
She neatly packed the two bags away in a plastic Tupperware container and handed it over to me.  
I ordered another beer and a glass of milk, and generously tipped the lady. "Thank you ever so much."  
She smiled. "You are very welcome. And thanks for the tip! Are you really going to try to track down that tiger?"  
"Yes. We are. Mowgli has a unique understanding of the forest and the animals living there. His knowledge should make this a lot easier."  
"You're a very special Wolfyboy", she grinned to Mowgli.  
'If only you knew', I thought while taking a big sip of my beer.

After five pints, I felt comfortably tipsy. A state I had not been in for a while, so I savoured it. I longed for a long night of sleep, and did not plan to spend much time out of bed tomorrow at all.  
"I'm going back to my room, Matthew. I'm tired. So much has happened today."  
"Alright. I'm going use tomorrow to get more rest. We can also make a plan on what route to take. We'll leave the next morning, is that OK?"  
"Yes. That sounds good", Mowgli replied. "I need some more time to process today. I'm overwhelmed."  
Mowgli left and I ordered my last beer.  
"You surely can handle your liquor", the lady remarked.  
"Well, I had an excellent meal to provide a solid foundation", I grinned. "And my stomach requires some more fluids to extinguish the smoldering fire there."  
"Haha. You silly", she chuckled. "Alright, it's past ten O'clock. Feel free to sit here and finish your ale, but I'm going to call it a night. I need to make sure breakfast is ready at six tomorrow morning for the workers that are staying here."  
She locked the doors and turned the radio off, most of the lights, except the one above the door to the staircase, and the one above my table. "The switches are on this panel here", she pointed out, "Have a good night!"  
"Thanks, you too", I replied.  
Diffuse noise from the street filtered through the door and windows into the now quiet restaurant area. A never ending cacophony of TukTuks, cars, trucks, buses and people walking by that was ever present in this city.  
I emptied my last pint, grabbed the Tupperware box with the chili-paste, placed the beer glass on the counter next to the door to the kitchen, turned off the lights and went upstairs to my room.  
The six pints of beer and my exhaustion made me fall asleep almost the moment my head hit the pillow.

Like I planned, I spent most of the next day snoozing in bed. My muscles were a bit sore and of course the black spot on my flank also still was tender. But I did notice improvement, which was a relief. The wounds on my torso also were healing up nicely. Around four in the afternoon, I felt rested enough to get up. Another warm shower was called for. Also, I took some soap and gave my clothing a much needed wash in the shower tub.  
A recognizable knock on my door and a voice. "It's Mowgli."  
"I hope you don't mind me like this", I excused myself while locking the door back up, realizing I was only wearing a towel around my waist.  
He chuckled. "Clothing is such a human thing. I only wore something if I was cold when I was living with my pack. And well, my brothers, mother, father... They made sure that I never was cold during the night."  
I turned around to sit down in one of the chairs.  
Mowgli gasped softly. "Your scars and wounds."  
"Well, I've told you what has happened to me. These lines across my chest and that spot on my left thigh are from the poachers. The marks on my arms and legs are from play-fighting, and the fresh ones on my chest and stomach are from Shere-Khan."  
Mowgli took his shirt off. His upper body and arms were covered in scars.  
"Most of those are from playing with Akru, Sura and Lala", he grinned.  
I smiled faintly.

"Shere-Khan stands in between us and the pack. I am sure that by now, he has found out that I'm back here, even if I came from another direction. I don't know if we'll be able to get to the pack without walking into him."  
Mowgli again placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's really better if we do our best to avoid him".  
I exhaled. "I've been thinking about what you said yesterday. And it's only right. I shouldn't let my anger dominate. But that will be hard for me. Very hard."  
Mowgli embraced me in a warm hug. "I'll be there for you, brother. And when we're back with our pack, the others will be as well."  
"Well, I absolutely do not know what will happen. Sura was pretty clear about his feelings towards me. And I have no clue if Bagheera and Vermillion were welcomed back, or told to leave. The reception I will get might be less than warm."

We agreed on leaving as early as we could the next morning, so we'd get to the pack's territory in the evening.  
I had another good, solid sleep. It was as if meeting Mowgli had calmed me down for some reason. There very quickly had formed a bond between us. Like the affection you can feel for a close friend.  
We sat down for breakfast, and I had a look at my GPS receiver.  
"Taking the obvious and most direct route is not an option if we want to avoid running into Shere-Khan. The route I took to get here would not be a good decision either, as I've left my scent there. He might be wandering around the area waiting. It's best for us to try to go around the other side. That'll be a detour though. A few extra hours."  
After finishing breakfast, I got up to walk to reception to check out.  
Mowgli grabbed my arm. "Leave my room open, please. You never know. Any one of us would have a place to return to if there would be a need. And it's paid for anyway."  
"Good thinking", I smiled.  
"Will you get back here?", the hostess asked.  
"I can't tell. It all depends on a lot of things, Might be a few days, or not at all. Please keep Mowgli's room open. If we're not back within a week, you can cancel it."  
"Very well", she nodded and I paid the bill.  
"The best of luck, you two!"  
I smiled to her, well meant this time. "Thank you."

"I do not understand how anyone would want to live here", I shook my head while we walked over the busy side-walk, next to an equally busy down-town street.  
"It's something I'm still not used to", Mowgli replied. "The stench is the worst part. The crowds and noise I can deal with."  
"Hell, I lived in a densely populated area of the world and I'm not used to this."  
"I've had lessons in geography and topography. Your home country is quite far away. What made you come here in the first place?", he asked.  
"Well, I wanted something different. Adventure. I saved up some money and planned a trip through India. Mostly as a challenge for myself. I had never been to this part of the world yet. The changes in culture and climate would be very interesting and I wanted to see how I would cope. And it would broaden my mind. So I sort-of plotted out a route between places of interest, and rented a car. After two weeks of traveling, I crashed it and narrowly escaped burning to death. And well, the rest is history. It was a bit more adventurous that I wished for! How about you?"  
"Shere-Khan killed my human parents when I was only a toddler. They were biologists working in this part of India. Some old newspapers in the library of where I used to live had articles about it. Authorities organized a man-hunt that lasted for weeks, but they never found him."  
"So he has dealt with this before then. Evasion, hiding... Makes sense why they can't find him now. I guess being a predator like a him means you're very skillful in moving around undetected. Do you know why he hates humans so much?", I asked.  
"He has had some bad experiences with humans in the past. Trophy hunters mostly. Though now, the majority of those who make the poor decision to try to hunt him down end up becoming the hunted."  
"So I've noticed", I remarked.  
"For some reason, Shere-Khan ignored me after he took the lives of my parents, and he left. I ended up wandering through the forest alone, vulnerable, and oblivious to the dangers. Mother has told me this story so often. Apparently I simply walked into the den, crawled in between Sura and Akru, and started to drink milk right away. Father asked Bagheera for help, because as you know, he has lived with humans. He agreed to teach me the ways of the Jungle, together with Baloo, and the pack allowed me to stay."  
We paused after crossing the outskirts of town and entering the forest.  
"This plotted route should be far enough from Shere-Khan's territory to be safe, I hope", I said to myself while checking my GPS receiver. I grabbed the Tupperware box from my back-pack and took out the two sandwich bags filled with the chili-paste. I handed one to Mowgli and tied mine to one of the buckle-gaps of my pants. Mowgli followed my example. I took the machete and bowie knife out of my backpack and fastened them to my belt and thighs.  
This captured Mowgli's interest. "Can I have a look at those?", he asked.  
I unsheathed both, and handed them over.  
Mowgli skillfully swung both blades around in an acrobatic kind of way. "These are nice."  
"You certainly know how to handle those", I remarked with a grin.  
He handed the blades back to me and reached under his shirt to show me his dagger.  
It was quite pretty. The sheath had elaborate decorative stitching in the leather. The grip and quillions of the dagger were made of polished steel with brass inlay. It had a traditional straight blade, with the bevel running down the center. It was longer than my bowie knife, but came in a few inches short of my machete.

"This is a very pretty dagger. Where did you get that?"  
"A long walk from the pack's territory, there's an old abandoned temple. It's the territory of the Bandar-log. When I was younger, I got lost and ended up there, after a group of monkeys captured me. They threatened to take me to Shere-Khan if I didn't teach their leader how to make fire. There were a lot of scattered human tools, jewelry and other things everywhere, and this dagger was among it. They didn't think much of it at first and let me have it. But when I was sharpening some wooden sticks with it, they very quickly changed their minds, and tried to take it away. While defending myself, I violently swung it around and ended up badly injuring three of them. This gave them enough of a scare to run out of the chamber we were in, leaving me all by myself. I made a run for it before they or their leader came back to get me. At first, Bagheera and Baloo very much disapproved of me having that 'human weapon', as they called it. But after I learned how to properly handle it, they saw how it became an extension of me and had a change of heart. And well, since I don't have sharp claws or teeth, it's only fair that I had something to defend myself with, and help me with things like hunting."

Our conversation stopped when reaching a deep gorge with a river running at the bottom of it. With a grumble. I put my backpack on the ground. "There's no way we can climb our way in and out of that. And according to the map, if we continue in this direction, we'll end up nowhere near where we want to be. It seems this is the same river that runs by the old poacher's campsite. I think we have no other choice than to follow the river up-stream towards it. I really hope there will be a place where the gorge won't be this deep though, so that we can cross. Else we'll end up passing too close to Shere-Khan's territory."

After a few seconds of silence, I looked at Mowgli, who stood next to me on my right side, to check if he had any ideas. However, he wasn't even looking at me or the gorge. I peered over his shoulder to see what had caught his attention.  
A huge gush of adrenaline surged through my veins when I saw the huge tiger approach in the far distance, leaping from left to right over boulders and branches on the ground. In a split second when he was close enough for me to clearly see his eyes, I saw he wasn't staring at me though, but at Mowgli.  
"Run, and don't look back!", I shouted.  
"But what about..."  
"RUN! NOW!"

Mowgli made a run for it. Shere Kahn adjusted his course to go after him, completely ignoring me. I had only seconds. The bowie knife made a few revolutions in the air, stabbed through the muscle tissue of the tiger's left front leg, and buried itself into his humerus bone.  
The injured leg gave way under the strain of Shere-Khan's gallop. He yowled out in pain. and rolled over the ground against a tree, dislodging the knife, which fell onto the forest floor.

I didn't hesitate a moment. With the machete in my left hand, I ran towards the feline to deliver the final blow. However, the tiger almost immediately sprung back up. With his powerful hind legs, he launched himself towards me.  
The massive blow when his body impacted mine threw me backwards on the ground, almost rendering me unconscious. The tiger jumped on top of me.  
His sharp claws dug into my chest and flank. In a flash, I saw the bloodthirsty, predatory look in his eyes, his open maw with ropes of viscous saliva between his lips and his huge, yellow fangs.

I closed my eyes, hoping that my sacrifice would delay Shere-Khan long enough for Mowgli to make his escape to safety.


	10. Chapter 10

10\. 

Shere-Khan's weight bore down on me. His panting made my body shake, hindering my already laboured breathing.  
Here I was, about to meet my end between the jaws of a tiger.  
Without my bowie knife or machete, I had nothing to defend myself with. Mowgli had taken my advice and was gone. That thought comforted me, because he now had a good chance to see his family again.  
I lay in wait for the end.  
Nothing.  
I opened my eyes to the tiger's nasty, evil stare.  
"A quick death would be too merciful for you, runt. Your end will be agonizing. Because of you, that man-cub has escaped me, and I will make you regret every coming second, until I decide to kill you."  
He raised himself off of my chest, grabbed my right leg and flung me away as if I was a rag doll.

The tiger limped towards me, grabbed my left arm and threw me in the other direction. Every fiber in my body was in agony. My left hand felt damp and sticky. "Blood", I thought and I turned it around. Red. lumpy blobs. Numbed and confused as I was from the pain and being thrown around, I couldn't think straight. "Blood AND flesh? Oh, I must be in a very bad way", I thought.  
I rubbed my hand over my cheeks and mouth to wipe off blood and sweat. Almost immediately, my mind became crystal clear. A layer of chili paste coated my pores and the small cuts and wounds on my face. The sharp stinging pain jump-started me and shook me out of the numbed state I was in.  
Shere-Khan grabbed my right hand to throw me around again. I quickly rolled over and slapped my left hand in his face, pushing and rubbing it around over his eyes and nose. He immediately let go. In vain, he tried to get rid of what was causing him the nasty stinging pain by violently shaking his head and rubbing his face in his paws.  
I took my chance and kicked him against one of his temples which caused the tiger to fall to the ground. holding onto a branch, I worked myself back on my feet. I could barely stand upright.  
Frantically, I searched for my knives and found my machete. My kick against Shere-Khan's head was not enough to knock him out for long. He had jumped up and he lashed out with his left claw when I was reaching out for the machete.  
He grabbed my left hand with the intention to throw me away again. After only a second, his grip weakened, and my hand slipped out of his mouth followed by a gush of saliva. I pulled myself out from under him, scraped my left hand over my jeans again and rubbed it onto the open wound on the tiger's left front leg. He yowled in agony.

We faced each other, and I pointed the machete at him.  
"Come on, jump on me again. The first thing you'll feel is my knife's blade passing through your rib-cage. The last thing you'll feel, is it cutting through your heart."  
His eyes were watering, strings of drool hanging from his maw, his lips curled up in a snarl.  
I placed one step in his direction and raised my machete.  
The tiger backed off, turned around, and limped away.  
Suddenly, I heard humans shouting, followed by a loud bang. The trunk of a young Teak right next to the feline disintegrated, causing it to fall down. Another shot ricochet off a rock, followed by popping sounds coming from smaller caliber firearms. Shere-Khan now ran for his life. By the time the hunter had reloaded his shot-gun and took aim, the tiger had escaped out of sight.

The adrenaline ebbed away and I collapsed on the forest floor.  
Two hands grabbed me and pulled me up.  
"Are you alright, Sir?", I heard a familiar voice say.  
In front of me wearing a camouflage uniform, was Bawa.  
His mouth fell open when he recognized me.  
"Mister de Berg?!", he exclaimed in disbelief. "What on Earth are you doing here?"  
I staggered on my feet. Bawa quickly grabbed my shoulders to prevent me from falling over.  
"You need medical care, mister de Berg", he said. Bawa ordered something in Hindi to his companion with the shotgun. who promptly flung the weapon around his shoulder, and took a red case marked with a white cross out of his backpack.  
"We saw you fight with the tiger", Bawa said. "If we had shot earlier, we might have hit you. and to be honest, we were astonished. That tiger has killed four of our men. And you not only survived his attack, you even scared him away. How?"  
"A kind lady's cooking", I answered, leaving Bawa with a clueless expression on his face.  
His companion started to clean my wounds with disinfectant. The stinging hardly bothered me.  
"We'll take you to a hospital", he said.  
I thought about that for a few moments while looking myself over. Admitted, I was in a terrible state. My body was covered in cuts and bruises from being dragged and thrown around. And I was bleeding quite badly from the deep claw-marks on my chest and flank. This time, a bit of a patch up would be a good thing.  
"What's that on your left hand?", Bawa asked.  
"Chili paste, and the reason why I am still in one piece."  
"Hmm... That's very clever actually", he replied. "That could have given those four hunters a chance."  
"Yeah well, I assume you don't really count on being close enough to actually use it on or throw it at him."  
"But you did?"  
"A last resort."  
Bawa shook his head. "You must be crazy to be out here all by yourself with that tiger on the loose."  
"He already was when I was here two years ago. I just got unlucky. That's life in the wilderness for you."  
"Is that why you got back here?", he asked, "To live out in the wild?"  
"Where I lived, there hardly is any nature which isn't planned or cultivated in a way. When I got here first, I was amazed by the gorgeous nature. It captivated me. And well, after I was forced to actually live outdoors for a while after I crashed, I found it to be very therapeutic, even if it has its dangers. So I made the decision to return to India indefinitely."  
Bawa's companion found my bowie knife, still covered in the tiger's blood.  
"You've wounded him. At least that should make it a little bit easier for us", he said while cleaning the blade off with a rag before giving it to me. I sheathed it, and stored it and my machete in one of my backpack's side compartments.  
"It's a ten minute walk to our jeep, mister de Berg", Bawa said, and he grabbed my arm to support me. His companion grabbed my backpack and carried it for me,

Bawa drove me to the ER of the same hospital I raced to with the man and his wounded daughter.  
"Take some time to recover, mister de Berg", Bawa said. "I'll come see how you are in a day or two."  
I had washed my hands, taken my jacket off and sat on an exam table waiting for a nurse to come for me.  
"Matthew de Berg. I don't often assign my patients myself, but when I saw your name on the sheet, I couldn't resist! I assume you're not here for another batch of antibiotics this time?"  
The man smiled warmly at me before frowning, "You're in a bit of a state. What happened to you?"  
"I ran into the same tiger that wounded your daughter a few years ago when you were out camping", I answered after recognizing the man standing in front of me.  
"You're the first one who survived to tell the tale", he said while grabbing some sterile cloth and disinfectant out of a closet.  
He shook his head while looking at the claw-marks on my chest and flank. "That tiger actually was on top of you? I can't believe it!"  
"He was. And he made the mistake not to finish me off right away."  
"Wait a moment, you actually FOUGHT him?", he asked in disbelief.  
"I rubbed chili-paste all over his face and in his eyes, before Bawa and his companion arrived", I said while pointing at the red stain on my jeans.  
"Ah. That explains the smell. For a moment I thought curry was on the menu today!", he grinned.  
"How is your daughter doing?", I asked.  
"She's well! She made a full recovery, for a big part thanks to you. And she's always talking about the black panther that sat next to her in the back of your car. She still misses him. Was he with you during those six months you spent in the jungle?"  
"Yes. He was like a close friend of me. Sadly, I've not seen him since I left India. Your daughter is not the only one who misses him."  
He nodded. "Yes. Living with a predator like that as your companion must be very special."  
I exhaled and nodded.  
"What brought you back here though? Another expedition?"  
"I emigrated to here to go live in the jungle."  
He looked at me for a few moments. "That is something you don't hear every day! I love nature and the jungle, but I always long for the company of my wife and daughter, and a soft bed to sleep in at night. I don't think I would last very long out there all alone."  
Thirty minutes later, the open wounds on my chest and flank had been cleaned out and stitched up. He gave me a quick physical inspection and concluded everything was fine.  
"Alright. I'm going to assign at least four days of bed-rest for you to recover. You're very fatigued. Going back to the jungle in your current physical shape would not be a good idea."  
I wasn't very enthusiastic about this at all, but I realized that my body simply needed it. It would be best to be in a decent shape when going back to the forest. I was sure that the fight I had with Shere-Khan was not the last one I'd have.

It was well past midnight. I lay on the hospital bed, unable to sleep. At least I was given a private room, which I was grateful for.  
Mowgli probably had reached the pack's grounds by now. I wondered how he, Bagheera and Vermillion were doing. If there had been a reunion between them and the pack, making things a bit as they used to be.  
Almost.  
Mowgli most likely would have told the others that I sacrificed myself to aid his escape.  
My thoughts also went to Tabaqui, all alone in Bagheera and Vermillion's den. I wondered if the pack would give him a chance and accept him, after hearing what he had done for me.  
Briefly, I thought about simply walking out of the hospital. I didn't want to be here. There was no one who could force me to stay. I did not need a doctor to cut out stitches. I sat upright in my bed and flung my legs over the edge. It only took one second of standing on my legs to quickly rethink my strategy. It felt as if a 50 kilogram weight bore down on me. My body had realized it was out of danger, and had switched into healing-mode, consuming large amounts of my energy. With a sigh, I let myself fall back on the bed and concluded I was in no shape to leave.

The next day was spent in a continuous light slumber with a few waking moments. I ate some lunch, having had slept through breakfast. The doctor came to check on me.  
"You look exhausted. Did you sleep last night?"  
"Hardly. Thoughts kept me from sleeping."  
"Well, it's not every day you can say you've survived an attack by a man-eating tiger. And your body received some punishment. You're all bruised up."  
"Yeah. That tiger threw me around a few times. He played with me like a cat with its prey."  
"You are one lucky guy, having survived that", he said while shaking his head. "I'll let you be. I'll come check on you again tomorrow. I hope you'll sleep better tonight!"

It was as if the man with the hammer knocked me out that night, and I slept for fifteen hours straight.  
The next late morning, I got up to go to the bathroom and take a shower. The water running over the stitches felt very weird. I was careful not to rip any of them out while washing.  
The night nurse had been so kind of provide me with some basic hospital clothing while taking my jungle outfit to the hospital's laundry.  
During the afternoon, I had a wander around and went to the hospital's cafeteria to have a cup of tea.  
While blowing in a cup of piping hot Chai, I spotted Bawa walking towards my table from the corner of my eye.  
"Ah, mister de Berg. How're you feeling?"  
I pushed a chair back, inviting the inspector to sit down.  
"It goes. I've been cleaned up nicely. Any more news on the tiger?"  
"No. He has disappeared like a ghost."  
"He probably is hiding somewhere to heal. He has a bad wound on his left paw."  
"Yes. I wanted to have a chat with you about your ordeal with him. You have certain, erm.. qualities it seems, if I may call it like that. That tiger has brutally killed four men. Not the least either, all were seasoned, expert hunters, but they were no match for him. However, you managed not only to survive a confrontation, but to win a fight with him. We can use someone like you on the team to hunt that tiger down. We are getting desperate. The families of the caretaker he killed first, and those of the four hunters want results, so they can have closure."  
I stared at Bawa while sipping my tea.  
"I will go back to the jungle the day after tomorrow, alone. Not you, or any of your men will follow me. And I will promise you the only thing you'll see of that tiger again, is his corpse. No questions asked."  
Bawa squinted his eyes at me for a while.  
"What do you need for this?", he asked.  
"Just a few packs of conserved food, water, and a re-fill of my first aid kit."  
"That's it?", he asked. "No rifle or a shotgun? You're going to hunt that tiger down unarmed?"  
I chuckled wryly, "A police officer offering a man without a firearms license a shot gun?"  
"I am a practical man, mister de Berg. Surely rules and regulations are in place for a very good reason, but in certain circumstances, I allow myself to deviate. And asking a man to go hunt a tiger unarmed is like sending him to a certain death."  
I thought about my earlier desire to get a shotgun. This would be my chance. But Bagheera and Mowgli's words echoed in my mind. I was a member of the pack, and would abide by the pack's rules.  
"Thank you for your trust in me, but I will turn down that offer. I will take that tiger down my own way."  
Bawa shook his head. "With your bare hands? Well, have it your way. I can't make you. But please let me know if you change your mind. I will come pick you up the day after tomorrow and drive you to the edge of town."

"So, you're heading back to the jungle, eh?", the doctor said. "I guess I can't make you stay longer. Do you have tweezers and pliers for removing the stitches?"  
"Yeah, I have a few tools with me. That should all be fine."  
Bawa was standing in the door opening waiting. I said my goodbye to the doctor, grabbed my belongings and followed Bawa out of the room.  
We drove for the five minutes it took to get to the edge of the forest from the hospital. Bawa parked his jeep at the side of the road.  
"What about the hospital bill?", I asked while we walked the last hundred meters towards the treeline.  
"We'll see to that", Bawa answered.  
"Thank you."  
"You're helping us out. Just think of it as a small down-payment. You'll get a proper commission when the tiger is dead."  
"Well, I am not asking for anything."  
Bawa stopped walking.  
"You're not asking for anything? Not a commission? Then why would you do it?"  
"I guess that's personal. That tiger has hurt me in ways I can and will not say. He will die, commission or no commission, even if it means the end of me", I decisively said.  
"What on Earth is that animal? You talk about it as if it's a person."  
"Thank you for your help, inspector."  
Bawa lay his hand on my shoulder. "In any way, good luck, mister de Berg. I hope we'll see each other again rather soon."  
I gave the officer a polite nod, turned around, and walked into the forest.


	11. Chapter 11

11\. 

This time, I didn't bother to stay clear of the road and pathways.  
The thought of running into Shere-Khan could not bother me any more. Mentally, I felt on top of him now. The confrontation with him had strengthen my desire to kill him, but I would respect The Law.  
Again, I stopped for a little while after the city noises has completely died away in the distance. I hoped not to return to Balaghat for the foreseeable time to come.  
I debated over what to do. Part of me yearned to be reunited with Bagheera, Vermillion, Mowgli... And hopefully the pack. But I felt too insecure to simply walk back straight away. I decided to go back to Vermillion and Bagheera's den first, to meet up with Tabaqui. If things had not worked out between Bagheera, Vermillion and the pack, they would be there as well by now.  
After a look on my GPS receiver, I took a sharp turn to the right, and left the road behind me.  
Those few days in hospital had done me good. I had a good rest, and my body had an opportunity to heal without the stresses of life in the forest. My stitches stung a bit, because they pulled on my skin, but that was all.  
The day went by. During the first few hours of the hike, I was vigilant, because I crossed straight through Shere-Khan's territory. But there was no trace of the tiger. This either meant that he had grown cautious of me, or that he was too badly hurt. Did he perhaps take a hit from Bawa's revolver? It all happened too fast for me to see anything.  
Hours later during the late afternoon, I arrived at the little stream. I waded through to the other side and continued the short walk that was left to Bagheera and Vermillions den.  
The dense collection of trees and brushes appeared in the distance, and I stopped, wondering how I would announce myself, but that wasn't needed. I saw the hyena laying next to the pathway leading into the overgrown area in the late afternoon sun. He had picked up my scent and ran towards me. I threw my backpack off and sat down on my knees. The striped hyena sat upright with his paws over my shoulders and enthusiastically licked my face.  
"I am so glad that you're back", he smiled. "I was worried about you. Come, let's go to the den."

I leaned back against my backpack that I had placed against the rocky wall.  
Tabaqui leaned into me and pressed his muzzle against my face. I rubbed my cheek against his lips and felt a familiar desire. "How do striped hyenas say hi to one another? Do they do the same as wolves do?"  
"We usually just sniff each other. But I know what wolves do. Would you like that?", Tabaqui asked.  
I nodded.  
The striped hyena parted his lips and gently placed his muzzle over my nose and mouth, licking over my gums and tongue.  
A blissful few moments later, Tabaqui let go and lapped at my cheeks and lips.  
Contently, I leaned against the hyena.  
"Do humans do this?", Tabaqui asked.  
"Not really as a way of saying hi. Only when being in love or showing affection with a mate or someone you like a lot."  
"Uh, like. When mating?"  
"Also when mating, yeah. So you can understand the surprise when a wolf did that with me for the first time."  
Tabaqui chuckled.  
"But I've grown to like it as a special way to bond. It feels nice to be so intimate with each other."

Dusk fell, and Tabaqui nudged my shoulder "Do you want to go into the den for sleep?", he asked.  
Even if my physical shape had improved over the last few days because of all the walking, the trek from Balaghat to here still took a toll, so I nodded.  
The striped hyena walked into what was Bagheera's den, and gestured me to come with him.  
I hung my clothing over a rocky outcrop in the wall and sprawled onto the soft vegetation on the den's floor. Tabaqui lay down against me and I rest my head against the hyena's chest. He softly nibbled my hair and ears.  
"You've not heard of or seen Bagheera and Vermillion since we left?", I asked.  
"No. They've been gone since."  
I exhaled. "That is good to hear. It means they've probably been accepted by the pack."  
"Does that mean you're going to go back as well?", Tabaqui asked, with a tone of concern in his voice.  
"I would surely want to. I don't know how welcome I am there though, after what has happened. But the only way to find out is to go there. At least Mowgli should be there now as well."  
"Mowgli? He's back in the jungle?", the hyena asked.  
"I met up with him in the human town. After I told him what happened here, he decided he wanted to return the the jungle to be with his family. When we were hiking through the forest, Shere-Khan tracked us down and attacked us. I held the tiger up long enough so that Mowgli could escape to safety."  
The hyena now eyed me over and nosed at my new bruises and stitched up injuries. "So you and Shere-Khan fought?"  
"Yes. He wanted to kill me slowly for helping Mowgli get away. He clawed me badly and threw me around a few times, but I managed to injure him and in the end, he withdrew."  
Tabaqui softly nuzzled. "You were willing to give your life for Mowgli. That says something about you."  
"The pack is all Mowgli has. He was orphaned when he was young. If someone deserves to be with them, it's him. After Shere-Khan backed off from me, humans found me and took me to a hospital where I spent a few days to heal. That's where my wounds were stitched up."  
"You won a fight with him and wounded him. He'll want revenge."  
"Let him come. I'll make him hurt. He now knows that picking a fight with me will have consequences."  
Tabaqui soothingly licked over the stitches and bruises on my chest and flank. He was so gentle and caring, it made me feel a bit like I did when Luri tended to me. It made me feel affectionate towards him and I buried my nose in his fur. He licked my cheeks and ears softly.  
"But yeah, I know the man-cub's history in all detail. Shere-Khan made us pester him and the wolves, and spy on them ever since Alexander and Luri adopted him."  
"That is in the past. I am absolutely sure that Bagheera and Vermillion will put a good word up for you. And so shall I."  
"Thank you so much. I need a clan. I don't fare too well all by myself. I feel lonely and it makes hunting a lot more difficult."  
"After tomorrow, we'll go to the pack's grounds and see how it goes."  
The striped hyena gave my face a few more warm licks. "Let's go sleep."

My full bladder woke me up early the next morning. Sleep-drunk, I staggered out of the den area and wandered in between the brushes to relieve myself. The early morning dampness made the air feel cold, and me shiver.  
Seeing the droplets of dew on the tips of the branches made me realize that I already had gone through all of my water. I had most of it during my hike yesterday, and I also had shared some with Tabaqui, removing the need for him to leave the den to walk to the stream to go drink. As I wasn't feeling thirsty now, I made a mental note to get some water later that day, after a few more hours of sleep.  
Back in the den, I lay down next to the striped hyena and fell asleep again. A few hours later, I woke up to him licking my chest and stomach, tending to my wounds and scars once more.  
"You've saved me from my wounds getting infected when Shere-Khan grabbed me that first time by looking after me like this."  
"We always look after each other when we're wounded. It's very important. Apart of companionship, it's also a matter of survival. if a clan member is down, hunting and defending ourselves will be harder. And I know humans can't really clean themselves like we can."  
"I would return the favour if I could", I smiled, stroking the mane on Tabaqui's back.  
The hyena sprawled out, stretching his limbs. I ran my hand up and down his chest and stomach.  
"You surely are an affectionate one", he softly said.  
"A thing I've grown to love while living with the pack", I said while resting my head against the hyena's. "During my human life, I hardly ever had any of it, except when I was a cub myself, but I hardly have any memories of that. I never had a mate, I've always been alone all the time. But when with the pack, I never slept alone. I was always kept warm and safe."  
"Wolves are like that. They form very tight bonds. Life in a clan is similar. We all need each other.  
We cuddled up and snoozed for a while longer.

"I have to go get water. I'll walk up to the stream we had to wade through. Do you want to come along?", I asked Tabaqui.  
"I will stay here and wait for you. I think we need to go hunt when you get back. I'm feeling hungry."  
"I'm carrying some food with me, if you can stomach the thought of eating human food", I said with a wink.  
"Well, I can try!"  
I smiled, grabbed my back-pack and walked out of the den area.  
I utilized the short walk to the stream to loosen up my muscles a bit. I ran a few paces, stretched my legs, arms. Tried out how far I could bend my body before my bruises started to hurt intolerably much.  
Bawa had given me two extra bottles of water, and a package of purification tablets. Those would be stored for later use. I trusted the water in that stream enough to drink it as it was.  
After filling all three bottles, I stored them away in my backpack and walked back.

A distant, agonizing scream echoed through the forest, chilling me to the bone, followed by the distinct deep, loud roar I had only heard once before.  
I threw my backpack away, and ran... Ran as fast as my legs would carry me.  
My mind had switched in overdrive as I approached the dense group of trees and brushes. There, where the pathway to the den area started, stood what I feared most, Shere-Khan. His head and chest covered in blood. In a flash I saw the look in his eyes. The blood-thirst. But also the satisfaction of knowing he had hurt me where it hurt me the most.  
Feet first, I launched myself in the air. I hadn't even bothered to unsheathe my knives.  
With a hoarse scream I threw myself onto the tiger. I slammed into his rib-cage and shoulders. I was beside myself with raging anger. I bashed his head, hit his jaws with my elbows and fists as hard as I could. I kicked his legs. His chest. His head. He snapped at me. I couldn't feel anything. A kick against his jaw. Blood. Teeth broke off.  
Claws. I was flung away. Seen from the corner of my eye, the tiger readied himself to jump on me one final time. I had my bloody hand firmly around the handle of my machete. He leaped, I drew.  
A huge brown mass flew by me and intercepted the tiger mid-flight, fully crashing into him. Shere-Khan made a few full rolls over the forest floor, before getting back on his paws, numbed, and staggering. Black fur obstructed my view and I felt a pressure bearing down on me.  
"Stay down!", Bagheera said.  
"Let me go! Let me at him!", I yelled. But I was unable to move.  
From under Bagheera's belly, I saw Shere Kahn limp away.  
The weight bearing down on me lifted off. I jumped back on my legs and looked around for the tiger, but he had gone.  
There were vague silhouettes of wolves, a bear, but my brain filtered everything out. All I could clearly see was the pathway leading to the den area.  
Without even winking or looking at anything or anyone, I sheathed my machete, and walked to where my intuition pointed me to go.

Down in between the two dens, in the common area, I kneeled down in front of Tabaqui's remains. I held my head with my hands briefly before punching my fists into the sandy soil in front of me.  
I was traumatized. Shocked. This massacre wasn't just a kill. This was a statement. A message to me. And Shere-Khan had been gruelingly thorough with its delivery. It became painfully clear to me that, In stead of just killing me, his mission would be to destroy me, by taking that what was dearest to me.  
"I had him. He would have jumped into my machete", I growled to Bagheera who had sat down next to me.  
"Like Tabaqui, you would have been dead, my good friend", he quietly said.  
"So what? This was -my- fight. I had every right to finish it, whatever the outcome! Doesn't that Law you're always talking about state not to intervene? He has killed Tabaqui to who I owe my life. You've taken away my chance to give that tiger what he deserved!", I snarled while getting up.  
The black panther looked at the striped hyena's remains and sighed. "Where are you going?"  
"I am going to put him to rest."  
"There aren't enough rocks here to seal off the den."  
"Then I'll bury him in the ground. I will not leave him here like that."

The beige and black wolf stood a little distance away from where the pathway cleared the densely grown area.  
I drew both my bowie knife and machete while walking towards him. Sura cautiously took a few steps back. I threw both knives on the ground in front of him. "Go ahead if you want to kill me. You were right. There is nothing left here for me."  
The silence was deafening. The wolf slowly stepped over my knives and walked towards me. He raised himself on his rear legs and placed his strong, muscular paws over my shoulders.  
"You are one of us, brother. We'll always be here for you."

Tears ran down my face.  
I lay my hands on the wolf's paws. "I have to say my last goodbye to a dear friend and lay his remains to rest."  
Sura nodded softly and solemnly. "We shall wait for you here."  
I walked to where I had dropped my backpack.  
With the shovel in my hand, I went back down to the den area, followed by Vermillion and Bagheera.  
The red wolf was visibly shocked when confronted with the horrible scene. I dropped down on my knees and started to dig out a grave in front of where Bagheera's den was.  
Carefully, I picked up the remains of the striped hyena, gently placed them in the dug out trench, and covered them up with soil.  
After the last scoop of sand, I threw the shovel away against the rocky wall, dropped on my hands and knees, and broke down.  
I cried out. I had to. There was no mental power left in me to hold back, nor did I feel any obligation to.  
Vermillion stood over me, licking up tears from my face and Tabaqui's blood off of my arms, chest and hands.  
Bagheera sat next to me. "I... I am so sorry, We thought you had died helping Mowgli escape. I was broken because I thought I had lost you. When I saw you here alive, I just... " The panther couldn't finish his sentence and he looked away. "You are to me what Mowgli was to me when he got in the jungle. I can never let anyone hurt you. I couldn't bear the thought of Shere-Khan..." he stopped again. "Before I could jump on him, Baloo took care of it."  
I clenched my jaws. "Shere-Khan must have picked up my scent while I crossed through his territory. All he had to do was lay down low and wait until the opportunity arose to hit. Bloody coward."  
Vermillion took my right hand in his muzzle and gently tugged. "Come. We're done here. We should leave."  
I grabbed my shovel and followed Vermillion and Bagheera out of Tabaqui's tomb.  
The haze my mind had caused had cleared when I got back out in the open where Baloo, Akru and Sura were waiting for us.

Like Sura, Akru had reached full maturity. They both were tall, fierce, and muscular wolves, just like their father was. Baloo pretty much was like I remembered him. Brown, massive, and strong.  
Akru stood up against my back and Sura against my front. I was no match for the two strong brothers, and I lowered myself to the ground.  
Two huge bear-claws suddenly went around my chest from behind, and I felt a soft mass against my back. Baloo licked my ears and cheeks with his huge tongue.  
"It is so good to see you again. We all thought you died", he softly said. "Mowgli said that you sacrificed yourself so that he could escape when Shere-Khan attacked you. After Vermillion and Bagheera told us how Tabaqui helped you, and that he was without any clan-mates, we came here to meet him and ask him if he would like to join the pack, in your honour."  
The two wolves nuzzled and licked my face when my emotions got the better of me again.  
"This is too much. I... don't want to be here any more", I exhaled.  
"Are you fit enough to walk?", Vermillion asked.  
I leaned against Baloo. The bear helped me to get back up. Only now I felt the pain of the fight with Shere-Khan. I had wounds on my arms and legs were the tiger's teeth had scraped me, and where he clawed at me. Thankfully he did not bite me directly.  
"I've dealt with worse", I answered while rubbing my eyes.  
"Let's go back to our territory then", Akru suggested. "Everybody will be so happy when seeing you. I am sure mother will be all over you", he smiled.  
I leaned heavily on Baloo, who accommodated me with his strong shoulders.  
"Mother?... Luri? She's alive? But... The den. It was sealed.", I stuttered in disbelief.

Sura looked to the ground. "I am so sorry, brother. When you returned, I was so upset. I truly thought you had left us, favouring your life in the human world over living with us. I didn't believe that you were captured. After you, father and Bagheera did not return, we were devastated, Mother didn't want to be in the den any longer because of all the memories there. We assumed you were dead, and sealed the den as a symbolic tomb and for closure. I... should have told you that, but I was too angry. Because mother was in such a bad way in the beginning, I offered to take up the role of alpha and lead the pack. I was leader for two years. But mother was very upset after she found out that I had banned you from our grounds after you had come back. So she made me stand down and took over. I failed. I should not have been so harsh to you. Then all of this would not have happened."  
"Did Bagheera tell you about father?"  
"Yes", Akru answered softly. "If mother knew you were here, she surely would've joined us. She's looking after Mowgli, helping him to sort out a den. After he returned and told us about Shere-Khan, she didn't want to leave him alone."

We walked back to the pack's territory, Akru, Sura and Vermillion in front of me, Baloo to my left, and Bagheera to my right. Despite my grief, I couldn't help but marvel at the realization not just to be walking in this kind of company, but that I could call this company my family.


	12. Chapter 12

12\. 

A pebble flew through the air and skidded over the water surface, causing ripples that quickly distorted and disappeared by the continuous turbulence caused by the small waterfall.  
I sat on one of the boulders that littered the small beach, feeling sad and numb.  
Part of me was relieved because I was back where I felt I belonged. But the loss I suffered left me scarred and depressed.  
Immediately after we had returned to the pack grounds a few hours back, I had wandered off to my old den, even before the other wolves of the pack and Mowgli could come up and greet me, telling the others that I had to be alone with my thoughts. Of course they respected that. Saying hello's and re-establishing bonds would be for a later time.  
My thoughts went to Alexander. His warmth, his fatherly love. His companionship. And Tabaqui. The hyena deserved a fate better than what he got. I felt responsible for his death, because I felt that I had lead Shere-Khan straight to the den. Even that stream apparently wasn't enough to cover my scent-trail. Unless that tiger had literally followed me in my footsteps. I did not see or hear anything during my hike, but I was only human. My senses were no match compared to the stealth of an apex predator like a tiger. He could literally have been meters behind me, without me even noticing.  
A violent sob shook my body, and I threw another pebble into the lake.  
While immersed in thoughts, I hadn't heard the rushing of the branches and twigs of the bushes that isolated my den area from the pack's old grounds.  
A snow-white wolf had crawled through the hole in the scruff and was standing behind me, perhaps five of six meters away.  
"Oh you", she softly said. "Always isolating yourself when you're feeling bad. I figured you'd be here after the others said you had wandered off."  
A shock went through my body when I heard that familiar, motherly voice. I looked in her bright eyes, unable to say anything.  
She walked over, and she sat over me. I held her paws and pressed my face into her soft, white fur.  
We sat there in the same manner as we did when she asked me to become her adoptive son. My pain and sorrow made place for the warm and blissful feeling of belonging and being looked after, a feeling I had missed so, so much.  
"I am so glad that you're alive and that you've returned", she whispered and reached down to tenderly lick my face. "Come, you shouldn't sleep all alone."

The pack had made their new den area in the part of the forest opposite of Council Rock, compared to the old grounds, and close to the cave that was Baloo's den.  
Most wolves had dug out their own den, but at the request of Bacchus, the pack also dug out a large communal den which was semi-underground, under the roots of an old tree. It functioned as a nursery for the cubs, and a place for wolves just to lay, snooze, or socialize with each other if they felt like doing so.  
"We'll sleep in Bacchus' dent", Luri said, and she nudged me to go in.  
"Where are the others?", I asked while looking around the dark interior.  
"Mowgli is sleeping with Sura and Akru, and Lala, Maki and their cubs are out for a night time nature call and a bit of play. They'll probably join us later on, as their mates are keeping Mowgli company for the night.  
"Mates?", I asked surprised.  
"Lala and Sura are mates now, and Akru has met a wolf named Maki. Lala and Maki had cubs last Fall."  
"So much has happened", I sighed. "And I've missed you so unbelievably much."  
The white she-wolf took my left hand in her muzzle and gently tugged it down towards the ground. I lay down on the den's soft floor.  
"I've missed looking after you. You haven't changed much. You look almost the same as you did just before you left."  
I stared up at the den's root-covered ceiling. "A curse of being human. Our life-spans exceed that of a wolf. Two years in my life aren't that much. I'll out-live you, Bagheera, Baloo, Sura, Akru, their cubs, their cub's cubs, and so on. A lot of sad goodbyes."  
"It's the nature of life we're all subject to. And you will get to know others who you'll get to care for and love, once we are gone", she softly said.  
Tears itched the corners of my eyes. Luri reached over and licked my cheeks. "You've been through a lot. Bagheera and Vermillion have told us everything."  
"I thought I'd never see you and the pack again. Sura was so cold to me when I got back. And then seeing the old den sealed with rocks. I thought you died."

"After Alexander and Bagheera didn't return from trying to find you, I was devastated. The pack needed a strong leader, and Sura volunteered as a candidate. Most of the pack agreed, and because Alexander was the pack's alpha, I, as his mate, had the final saying. Sura was to become leader of the pack, and I'd be there for counseling. He was very badly struck by loosing you especially, but despite his sorrow, he made a good alpha. We all decided to move the dens to the area opposite of Council Rock. I just couldn't be in our old den any more. Sura, Akru and me wanted, and needed closure. We didn't know for certain whether you, Alexander and Bagheera were alive, or dead. So we decided to seal up the den as a monument for you three. When I learned about your return and the cold reception by Sura, I got very angry with him and made him step down. He'll make a fine leader some day, but he shouldn't have banned you from our pack. He owes you a life debt. Twice."  
"My response to him wasn't good either", I sighed.  
"Sura is your brother, always remember that. He would never, ever hurt you. Even if when he's very angry with you."  
"I found out about Alexander when I saw his remains. They're up on a small mound somewhere in Shere-Khan's territory. He took great joy in showing me after I was captured."  
Luri nuzzled me and exhaled. "That must have been terrible, finding it out like that. Shere-Khan must have thought the truce he made with Mowgli and us was broken after he found out about you living here, so he found it just to take revenge."  
"So it all comes down to that day when I stumbled upon Bagheera in that cage and those two poachers. I should have walked away after dealing with those two and setting Bagheera free. I might have been dead, but at least this all would never have happened."  
The white she-wolf shook her head. "Now listen to me. You have saved Bagheera's life. You have saved Sura's life twice. You came back to the pack after hearing about Shere-Khan making a kill in the human town, out of concern for us. Despite Shere-Khan capturing you and hurting you badly, you persevered. Thanks to you, Vermillion and Bagheera are now back with the pack. You find Mowgli, and save his life by your willingness to sacrifice your own to hold Shere-Khan back long enough so that Mowgli can escape and find his way back here. The pack now is whole again thanks to you, and everyone is grateful for that. Don't question your importance and contribution to the pack."  
I rest my head against the white wolf's flank. Before long, I was asleep.

Tree trunks, branches, leafs... I floated up higher and higher. The vast forest spread out underneath me with in the far, hazy distance, the outlines of Balaghat. I looked around me. Nothing. My feet were floating freely in mid-air. Suddenly, I started to move. First at walking speed, but I started to fly faster and faster. A pathway that turned into a gravel road, visible through gaps in the forest canopy. Then a jerk to the left. I saw the river underneath me.  
I descended and flew through the gorge like a jet-fighter through a canyon, zigzagging and banking from left to right.  
I climbed out of the gorge. No more river, but a stream. I turned left and now floated at ground level through the forest. A dense group of trees and vegetation appeared in the distance and got closer and closer. The pathway. The slope downwards.  
My feet touched the ground.  
"Why am I here?!", I called out.  
Silence.  
A small hole appeared in the soil in front of me. It got bigger and bigger.  
"No! NO! Please!" I cried out.  
The putrefying stench of decay filled the air. The hole deepened. Ribs appeared. A claw.  
Two words started to echo around. Barely understandable at first, but with every completed sequence they got clearer and louder.  
"Your demise. Your demise. Your demise."  
I screamed and pushed myself off against the ground, into the air as hard as I could. I flew upwards. Clouds, sun, then clouds again. Trees. I crashed on the forest floor.  
Two empty eye sockets stared at me. Horrified, I pushed myself back. Alexander's bones lay in front of me. Something in a taller patch of grass to the side caught my attention. Another skull. A feline skull. A panther's skull... Crushed.  
"Your demise."  
A loud tiger's roar.  
Luri looked at me. Pain in her eyes. Her bleeding muzzle opened in a desperate attempt to breathe. The tiger's jaws around her neck clenched. A snap. Her bright eyes turned dull. Her body dropped to the ground.  
"Your demise."  
A foreboding stare.

With a violent jerk, I awoke from my nightmare and got on my hands and knees, panting and sweating.  
"Shhh. It's alright. You had a bad dream", Luri softly shushed.  
"This was more than just a bad dream", I sighed while laying back down on the ground, covering my face with my hands. "It's as if that tiger is in my head, giving me the most horrifying nightmares."  
"What did you see?"  
"Tabaqui's grave. I buried him in front of Bagheera's den. The ground opened up and his remains appeared. Then I flew to the mound where Alexander's remains are. Bagheera's crushed skull lay next to Alexanders'. And... that wasn't all. I saw you. Shere-Khan's jaws were around your neck. And he killed you right in front of me."  
Luri soothingly licked my chest and stomach. "You loved Tabaqui, didn't you?"  
"Yes. Even if he was Shere-Khan's minion. He lost everything he had left when he saved me from that tiger. He was so caring and friendly. He deserved better."  
"Did he know about your feelings towards him?"  
"Yes."  
"That is all that matters now. Please keep that in your thoughts. And about Shere-Khan, You can trust me, that will never happen."  
"I really don't know. That tiger is pure evil."  
"Like I said, trust me", the white wolf said. She licked the sweat off of my face. "Now, go back to sleep."

I woke up finding beige fur around my face and feeling something around my chest and stomach. Two human arms.  
There was warm skin against my back as well. I looked around to find Mowgli sound asleep, spooning me from behind.  
Akru was laying against me from the front, my head snug in between his front paws and against his chest with Sura laying crosswise, with us laying against his flank.  
My stirring had woken the two wolf brothers up.  
Akru yawned, and clamped his open muzzle over my mouth to wish me a good morning, followed by Sura. After the beige-black wolf let go, I looked around the den. Daylight shone through the gaps in between the huge tree roots, which partially made up the wall of the big den.  
I counted seven wolves. Vermillion, Bacchus, Luri, who was sleeping a bit further down the den together with Lala, and a green-white furred wolf. Four wolf-cubs were sleeping at various spots on the den floor. One close to where we were, two on the far side with Bacchus, and the last one close to Lala.  
Mowgli had also waken up and was rubbing my chest and stomach with his hands before pressing his cheek against mine. He shifted until he lay over me, and suddenly pressed his mouth onto mine. I was shocked at first, but quickly realized he just wanted to greet me and wish me a good morning the proper wolf way, like Akru and Sura did, so I gave in, and he took me in a warm and tender kiss.  
Lala, Vermillion, Bacchus and the green-white wolf were awake now and crawled over to us to say hello.

Lala sprawled next to me, followed by one of her cubs, who found his way to one of the nipples between the red wolf's rear legs, and eagerly started to nurse.  
I watched the cute scene for a little while.  
Of course, my interest in her nursing cub did not go by unnoticed, and the red she-wolf invitingly raised her rear leg up a bit further, "Does the overgrown wolf-cub want to suckle as well?"  
Her relentless teasing about me being a cub had always annoyed me in the past, but now I just could not get angry with her. She giggled and mouthed my nose and cheeks.  
Vermillion cuddled up against my back and licked my ears and neck.  
"I'm so sorry about Tabaqui. Even if I had my doubts about him, he most certainly did not deserve an end like what he got. We're so glad that you're alive", he softly said.  
I reached back and rubbed my face against his cheek. "Thank you. It is so good to see you and Lala together."  
He smiled and rubbed his muzzle over my mouth.  
The white-green wolf came up. "Shall I take Rusty outside for a nature call, Lala? Mine both need to go."  
"Oh, thanks Maki. It means that I'll have my full dedicated attention for this big wolf-cub here", she grinned. "I am sure he is in need of some extra care after all this time", she added while licking my face and chest.  
Maki chuckled and nuzzled my face while winking to Lala, "Oh and what a cutie he is! Though I can take him off of your paws as well for a nature call?"  
I exhaled and grumbled. "Here we go again."  
Vermillion laughed. "The big and fierce human who has fought Shere-Khan several times and survived still is a cub. Now the shocking truth is finally out!"  
I gave him a blank stare. "You're starting this as well? This is great, now I have two big, red teasing wolves to deal with. I do need to go out for a nature call, you were right about that, so I might as well", I said to Maki, "At least I'll be ridden of these two", I grinned while working my way out from in between the wolf-pile. Lala paw batted at me. "Silly human."

I crawled through the den's exit, out in the morning sun and shivered. The fresh and damp morning air felt cold on my skin, which was still wet from the wolves' saliva.  
"Where can I relieve myself? I knew all the spots in the pack's old grounds."  
Maki gestured me to follow her.  
I watched her help the cubs to do their business and found a brush to relieve myself.  
"Do you want me to clean you?", she kindly asked after she finished tending to the cubs. "I figured it would be hard for you to reach all the way down there yourself", she added after seeing the expression on my face.  
"Uh...Um.. No. I tend to clean myself when I swim in the little lake at the other side where my den is."  
"Alright", she smiled.  
Bagheera and Baloo came walking up. "So have all the wolves finished with cuddling and slobbering you so that you can come spend some time with your old feline and ursine friends?", he smiled.  
Maki chuckled, "Oh, I would not mind looking after him for a bit longer."  
The black feline grinned. Maki raised herself on her rear legs and playfully nipped my nose before leading the cubs back to the communal den.  
Baloo nudged me and Bagheera. "Come, let's go to my den."

The large bear sat down against a big sloping rock in front of the cave's entrance. Bagheera sprawled down next to him and I found a spot in between the bear's rear legs. I leaned back against his soft belly.  
I shook my head. "That Lala. And now that green wolf and Vermillion are in on that whole cub thing as well."  
Bagheera laughed. "Lala always loved to tease you about being a cub. It's good to see not much has changed while we were gone. She loves you to bits, she really does. It's just your response she finds hilarious. Maybe you should just say yes when she teases you again and see how serious she is about it. I am sure that would be the last thing she would expect. I'd love to see her reaction", the panther grinned.  
"Yeah, right", I grumbled.  
"Maki is a very caring wolf. Akru is lucky to have found a mate in her", the brown bear said. "She wasn't teasing you when she asked if you needed to be cleaned, you know", he added with a smile. "She only wanted to help you out. This is not the human world. You don't have to be ashamed of these kind of things here."  
"It's making me feel so awkward."  
"That's the human in you. You're among wolves now", Baloo smiled, pulling me snugly against his chest and belly.  
"Did you sleep well?", Bagheera asked, changing the subject after seeing my discomfort.  
"No. I had a terrible nightmare."  
"About Shere-Khan?" the black panther asked.  
"Yes. It was very disturbing. I saw Tabaqui's grave and the ground opened up to his remains, and afterwards I was at the mound where Alexander's remains are."  
I looked at Bagheera, "I saw your skeleton right next to Alexander's, and your skull was crushed. Shere-Khan appeared with his jaws around Luri's neck and killed her right in front of me. All the time, the words 'Your demise' just kept on echoing through my mind."

Bagheera crawled up against me in between Baloo's paws and licked my face. "That must have been agonizing. But Luri was there to comfort you, at least."  
"She said that I could be sure that my nightmare would never become reality. But I'm worried. That tiger wants to destroy me. If not by killing me, it is by hurting me by taking those that I love."  
"Let me tell you something about Luri", the black panther said. "You've only known her as the very caring and loving mother she is to you, to Sura, Akru, and Mowgli. I've known her for very long, and know a different side of her. She's a brilliant strategist, a fearsome fighter, and can be a cold blooded, merciless killer if you're on her bad side. When Mowgli got orphaned and came to the den for the first time, Shere-Khan tried to take him. She fought and chased Shere-Khan away all by herself. He fears her, for a very good reason. She's probably the only wolf of the pack who would stand a chance in a fight against him. She keeps it to herself though. She's not particularly proud of that side of her. But that's why she assured you that what you saw in your dream will never happen. I've also seen you fight. First the poachers when you rescued me, then against Sandah, and yesterday Shere-Khan. You are a force to be reckoned with yourself, my human friend. And Shere-Khan knows this. That is why he went for Tabaqui, and not you, tragically."  
I exhaled. "He would have fallen into my machete, Bagheera. I could have ended him."  
"You mean too much to me. I couldn't get it over my heart to see you get hurt any more, my friend. I've told you that. Even if that meant letting Shere-Khan escape."  
Baloo slowly lay down on the ground, pulling me and Bagheera along with him.  
"Seems someone else also is a bit of a cuddle monster", the panther chuckled, while making himself comfortable against me in Baloo's tight bear hug.  
The bear tongue bathed Bagheera, who surrendered to the affection. The feline rumbled contently with his eyes closed as Baloo licked his chest and belly.  
Baloo turned to me, licking me with long, slow strokes all the way from my lower belly to my chin and over my face.  
I felt bliss, being together with Bagheera in the bear's tight embrace.  
"I really can't put to words how happy I am to have you both back again", Baloo said.  
"That feeling is all mutual, my ursine friend", Bagheera said dreamily.  
I could only nod in agreement.


	13. Chapter 13

13.

Because of the nightmare I suffered the previous night, I still was very tired. There was no way I'd last long being cuddled up so closely to Bagheera, in Baloo's bear-hug.  
Moist, warm breath and a rough tongue in my face woke me up.  
"Hmmm... I want to sleep more", I exhaled dreamily.  
"The pack needs to hunt, and they'll appreciate my help", the feline smiled. "And we're all tangled up against each other. I'd find it rude to wake you up when trying to get up."  
Baloo raised himself up slowly, so we wouldn't tumble onto the ground. After getting back on my feet myself, I briefly leaned against the rock face and yawned.  
"Have a good day, you two.", Bagheera said while yawning himself. "I'm going to head over to Council Rock to see what the pack wants to do with the hunt."  
After the panther had left, Baloo looked at me and shook his head. "You're all covered in wounds and bruises."  
"Yeah. That tiger left more than enough souvenirs for me to remember him by. And I have a feeling these won't be the last."  
"You are safe here, you know. Shere-Khan will think twice before to show up here. I'll break that tiger's neck if he does. And like Bagheera said, he would face Luri."  
"He'll continue to be a menace where he lives though. And to humans who venture out in his territory."  
"Pardon me for saying this, but I don't care much for the humans. They are quite horrible, if what Bagheera has told us about them is all true."  
"Well, I'm human", I grinned.  
The bear grabbed me and slobbered me all over.  
"Gah!", I snerked.  
"Serves you right for being smart to me", the bear chuckled.  
I embraced Baloo and leaned in against him. "I think I'm going to my den and sort my stuff out."  
"Are you going to live there again? It's a bit further away from us than before."  
"I don't know yet. It depends on how I feel. I want to be close to you all, but there are times when I want to be by myself, and I just love to swim in the lake and use the waterfall to wash myself. And I do need a wash. I smell of wolf, panther and bear slobber all over", I grinned.  
"I've never understood your urge to wash yourself like you do. Of course you smell of us. Is that such a bad thing?", Baloo asked. "It means you smell of where you belong."  
"Well, like Maki said, I can't reach everywhere with my mouth like you all can. And I don't think I'd particularly like cleaning myself with my tongue like you all do. So I just wash myself under the waterfall or in the lake."  
"That is why Maki asked to help you out. I am sure the others wouldn't mind to either. It's what they do for Mowgli. He doesn't even give it a thought."  
"I am not Mowgli. I was born and raised in a human society, which means I've been taught habits and behaviours that make absolutely no sense here, I know that. But it's how my brain is wired up. I can't just change that in the blink of an eye. It took me quite some effort already to simply be able to greet others like you do here without my brain telling me it is something different."  
"You're unique and wonderful in your own way", the bear smiled. "Alright. I'm going to have a wander around the forest to look for berries and vegetation, as I'm feeling a bit peckish.

With a gracious arc, I dove into the cool water of the lake. While streamlining my body, I floated under water for as long as I could endure before surfacing. Using my arms as stabilizers and rudders, I floated around in a seated position. I've always enjoyed swimming, ever since I was a toddler. I swam competitions as a kid, and done some scuba diving in my early adult years. I felt as much at home in the water as I did on dry land.  
After swimming a few stretches across the lake, I got out and walked to my den to grab a towel out of my backpack.  
While drying myself off, I looked around the interior of my den, contemplating about how I would go around restoring some of the wooden support structure that had started to rot, and making in a bit more homely.  
I hung the damp towel over a branch outside to dry, and went about unpacking my backpack.  
My machete, bowie knife, a few cans of soup, dried toast, my first aid kit and a small box with tools. To my surprise, I saw the big black box I didn't remember packing and had been wondering about for a while. I placed it on the den floor and unclipped the two locks on each side.  
A yellow note was placed on top of a black styrofoam cover. 'In case of problems, call on 7100 Hz. Bawa.'  
Puzzled, I took the styrofoam cover off and saw a portable HF transceiver, COAX wiring, a rolled up end-fed wire antenna, a coil box, a battery and a small folded solar panel charger.  
"Well, at least calling on the 40 meter band means I won't have many problems clearing the forest and covering the distance to Balaghat", I mumbled to myself. "They must have found my HAM radio registration card among the other burned remains of the car wreckage"  
I closed the box and put it next to my toolbox, against the rocky wall of my den.

"You surely are occupied with something."  
With a shock, I turned around to find Sura sitting in my den's opening.  
"You startled me. You're not hunting with the others?", I asked.  
"With experienced wolves like Vermillion and Akru, and Mowgli helping out, I asked if I could be excused for once. I wanted to spend some time with you."  
He walked in and sniffed the various boxes and cans of food.  
"You're going to live here again?" he asked.  
I sat down on the sandy floor. "I don't know yet. At least I want to have a place to retreat to if I feel a need to be alone, and I like it here."  
Sura sat down next to me while splaying his ears. "I don't want you to be alone."  
I leaned into his side. "It's nice to see you and Lala are mated and have cubs. And Akru as well."  
"Lala likes to tease and make fun of you, but she means well. We want you to know that if you're feeling bad and you feel like being looked after, you're more than welcome to come to our den. The same counts for Akru and Maki. But I guess Mother already has you covered pretty good."  
"I love to spend time with you regardless", I smiled. "You're my wolf brother."  
The wolf tenderly nibbled my nose and cheeks. I closed my eyes and inhaled the his scent while rubbing my mouth over his lips.  
Sura took me in a blissful, warm wolf kiss.  
"I'm so happy we're all together again", he softly whispered. "After Mowgli told us what happened with Shere-Khan, I felt horrible. I felt I chased you away from us, and that I would never have a chance to make things right with you any more."  
The wolf licked tears off of my cheeks. "You humans have such an interesting way of showing emotion."  
"I'm all messed up. My emotions are all over the place. I must've cried more the past few days than I've done in my entire adult life. I'm still hurting over what happened. I can't process it and give it a place yet."  
"You've been through a lot, brother. You came back here expecting to be united with us, but in stead found your entire world here crumbled and destroyed. I'm part of the cause, and I'm very sorry for that."  
I embraced the beige-black wolf and buried my face in his thick chest fur.

"Hey Sura, Matthew."  
Mowgli and Akru were standing in my den's opening.  
"Can we come in?"  
"Of course, you're my brothers", I smiled while rubbing my face dry.  
"Matthew?", Sura asked.  
"My human name. Feel free to call me like that if you want."  
"We've caught a buffalo!", Mowgli grinned victoriously.  
"Did you make the kill?", Sura asked.  
"No, one of the hunters did. But I chased it around! We should all go and feed."  
"Oh, I remember that one time", I said to Sura.  
"I'll never forget that. But you made the kill and again proved yourself worthy to everyone."  
"You killed a buffalo?", Mowgli asked in awe.  
"Uh... Well, Bagheera and the wolves did most of the foot-work on that one. I just finished it off. But sadly, Sura got badly injured when the buffalo charged him, and almost died because his wounds got infected. I had to race to the human town to get medication for him."  
"Mother never let me made a kill", Mowgli said while looking to the ground. "She thought it would be too dangerous."  
"It is dangerous, little brother", Akru said while nosing him. "Though back then you were still a small cub. Now you've grown."  
"My kill wasn't planned either, Mowgli. If it offers a bit of comfort to you, I wasn't intended to do it. I was only to chase the animal and direct it towards the hunters. And I wasn't proud of myself at all. I'd rather never do it again."  
I looked at all my stuff. "Alright. You go and eat. I'm staying here to sort out my den."  
"You're not hungry?", Akru asked.  
"I have some food here."  
Sura, Akru and Mowgli nosed me and walked off.

I couldn't keep my eyes off of the black case containing the radio. I decided to assemble it and have a listen.  
I climbed up on top of the rock where my den was in, and tied one end of a piece of rope around the trunk of a tree and the other to the clip on one end of the wire antenna. I ran it all the way down in a slight angle towards another tree standing year the waterfall, and used another piece of rope to neatly hang it up.  
The folded up solar panel unfolded into a one square meter panel with a stand under it, so that I could place it under an angle, and aim to to where the sun was. I connected the wiring to the battery, and ran the feed and the coax coming from the antenna's coil-box to the transceiver.  
"Well, here goes nothing", I said to myself while pushing the on-off button on the transceiver.  
Static noise filled the air. I turned the big dial knob around a bit. The radio was tuned in to the 20 meter band. and I randomly had a listen in. I heard a few Indian stations, Chinese stations, a few Russian ones. And I could've sworn to have heard one or two stations from Italy and Germany too, but those were deep in the static. Then I selected the 40 meter band and turned the dial until the display read 7100 Hz. I only heard static. I left it on while collecting some twigs and branches for making a fire to heat up some soup.

"Baava, yah Chadha hai, aapakee kaaryavaahee kaisee hai?"

I almost dropped my piece of toast into the can of hot soup.

"Namaste Chadha. Main ek samaashodhan mein aa gaya hoon. Yahaan jang lagee dhaatu kee pattiyaan hain. Kya yah vah shivir ho sakata hai jahaan de Berg kee baat ho rahee thee?"

"Damn it. Where is Google Translate when you need it?", I grumbled.  
I listened to the Hindi sentences. I recognized the voices of Chadha and Bawa and heard my surname. I turned off the transceiver to save power and decided to go and get Mowgli to help translate.

I looked at the stripped Buffalo skeleton and grinned. "You all didn't take long."  
A few of the hunters were snoozing in the afternoon sun and got up to greet me when they saw me.  
"It's good to see you again, human", one of them smiled after a few rather meaty licks in my face.  
Luri, Lala, Maki, Bagheera and Vermillion walked up to nuzzle and lick me.  
"Well, all the tasty meat is gone now!", Lala said. "You're too late to have anything. You will go hungry!"  
"Oh, but we can still feed him, Lala", Maki said with a grin.  
"Eh, no. I will pass on that, thank you very much. I don't want regurgitated, slobbery meat", I said with a disgusted look on my face.  
The wolves all chuckled.  
"Mowgli, I need your help with translating Hindi to English."  
"Oh, sure thing!", he said. "Why though?"  
"I'll show you in my den."  
"Oh, now you've gotten us all curious", Lala said.  
"Yeah, you can't wait to see what dark secrets from the human world this overgrown wolf-cub has to show, eh?", I grinned.  
"Oh, I'm all eyes and ears", Vermillion said.  
"Well, alright then. If you're all done with feeding, follow me to my den."  
"Are the cubs alright, Lala?", Maki asked.  
"Bacchus is looking after them, they can't be better", the red furred she-wolf smiled.  
"Well, well. You've had a change of heart about Bacchus", I said to Lala.  
"Oh shush, you wolf-cub!", she snapped.  
I looked at Vermillion, "I had to endure that for six months. Do you now understand why I fled back to the human world?"  
The red wolf tried to stifle a laugh, but failed utterly, followed by the others. Lala didn't know where to look.

I turned the radio back on. Static.  
"Hmm. Of course they're quiet now", I grumbled.  
I turned the dial around a bit to scan, but apart of a few digital signals, I couldn't hear anything. I dialed it back to 7100 Hz.  
"Human ingenuity", Bagheera nodded. "What does it do?"  
"Basically, this turns my voice into a signal that passes through the air, via that wire there. Someone with a similar piece of equipment can pick it up and hear what I say."  
"How far does it reach?"  
"That depends on a lot of factors. Back home, I had a similar set-up. and when all the conditions were right, I could hear signals from the other side of the world."  
"That's amazing", Akru said.  
"It's silly!", Lala said. "Why would you want to talk to someone you can't even see?"  
"It has its uses", I answered. "Just imagine when you'd be hunting. I could tell you prey was coming long time before you'd be able to see it, so you could position yourself in a good place to intercept it."

"Namaste Baava, yah Chadha hai. Main ek ghante mein us shivir mein aa jaoonga. Kya aap vahaan mera intajaar karenge?"

I looked at Mowgli.  
"Eh... 'Hello Bawa, this is Chadha. I will come to that campsite in an hour. Will you wait for me there?' "  
My blood ran cold. "Those fools. I told them to leave it alone and let me deal with it"

"Samajh liya. Main akela hee aaoonga."

" 'Understood, I will come alone.' "  
Luri licked my shoulder. "What's wrong? What fools? Why are you looking so worried all of a sudden?"  
"It's those two police officers who found me after my confrontation with Shere-Khan when Mowgli escaped. They are at that campsite where I met Bagheera for the first time and fought those poachers. They're looking for Shere-Khan. They are far too close to here. It's only a five hour walk."  
"All by themselves? Now that's a death-wish", Bagheera said while shaking his head.

"Yah vaastav mein shivir de Berg ke baare mein baat kar raha tha. To kam se kam ab ham yah sunishchit karane ke lie jaanate hain ki vah sach kah raha tha."

" 'This indeed is that campsite de Berg was talking about, Chadha. So at least we now know for sure that he was telling the truth.' "  
I picked up the microphone and held it in my hand, doubting whether I should respond or not.  
"You're going to talk to them?", Mowgli asked.  
"I don't know what I should say", I grumbled, putting it back down again. They know how dangerous Shere-Khan is. And telling them to go away won't do much."  
"Do I have to inform the others and warn them about those two?", Luri asked.

"Chadha, Chadha! Mujhe mittee mein taaze taaze panje ke nishaan dikhaee de rahe hain. Jitanee jaldee ho sake yahaan jao, aur apane saath ek shikaaree lao!"

Mowgli gulped.  
" 'Chadha, chadha! I see fresh tiger paw prints in the soil. Get here as quickly as you can, and bring a hunter with you!' "


	14. Chapter 14

14.

With a sigh, I turned off the radio and grabbed my back-pack, some cans of food, and my knives. "I have to go to the campsite."  
I ran back to Bacchus' den to fetch my clothes. The chubby wolf was sleeping with Lala and Maki's cubs and woke up when I crawled inside.  
"Hello you!", he smiled with a yawn. "You're here for a snooze?"  
"I wish I was, Bacchus. One of those police humans is at the old camp-site and has spotted Shere-Khan's paw-prints. That's way too close to here for comfort", I said while getting in my clothes and putting my boots on.  
The brown-white furred wolf looked at me worried. "You're going to fight Shere-Khan again?"  
I exhaled.  
"Please be careful", he said softly.  
I crawled to Bacchus and embraced him. "I will try."

"Why are you going there?", Bagheera asked agitated. "It's five hours walking. If one of those men saw fresh paw-prints of Shere-Khan, it's far too dangerous, and you'll be too late to make a difference. Why do you think they're worth risking your life for?"  
"Bawa has helped me out, and thanks to Chadha, I'm not rotting away in some filthy prison somewhere."  
Bagheera sighed. "You just want another confrontation with Shere-Khan, admit it."  
I remained silent and clipped the machete and bowie-knife to my belt.  
Bagheera looked at Luri, who stared to the ground with a sad expression on her face. "It's his choice, Bagheera."  
The white she-wolf looked at me. "As the alpha of this pack, I can forbid you to go. But you would go anyway, without us to protect you."  
"I do not want any protection. I will go alone. This will be my fight. There will be no intervention. I have kept to the Law of the Jungle by not bringing firearms with me, even not when I was offered. Now I am asking you to respect the Law on my behalf."  
The black panther shook his head.  
Mowgli lay his hand on my left shoulder. "Revenge won't bring father or Tabaqui back. You're acting on your human emotions. Please stay with us here where you're safe."  
I embraced him. "Sorry, but I just want to put an end to my rages and nightmares."  
The wolves watched in silence as I walked away.

The hours went by and I gradually grew more wary as I approached the camp-site in the early evening. I carefully walked into the clearance.  
Two jeeps were parked on the trail. I wandered around the area to find either Bawa or Chadha, but there was no trace of the men.  
The jeep parked in front had the doors unlocked, the key in the ignition, and the HF radio set that was mounted on the dashboard still turned on.  
A black blanket on the ground in between the two vehicles caught my attention. Curious, I lifted one of the corners up to see what is was covering up.  
I saw Bawa's head, which was the only recognizable body part of the carnage on the ground in front of me.  
Quickly, I draped the blanket back down and held on to the back of the jeep to keep myself from falling over, while gagging.  
"We can only hope he met his end swiftly, without too much pain."  
Chadha and the same hunter that I had seen the last time walked towards me.

"I'm very sorry", I said. "I heard him calling you on the radio. He shouldn't have gone out alone, I've told him to let me deal with that tiger."  
Chadha sighed while wiping away his tears. "You against that tiger, alone? Are you delirious, mister de Berg? How much better can you do compared to us, or an expert hunter?"  
He shook his head.  
"Where is he now?", I asked.  
"We don't know", the hunter answered. "We scoured the area for hours. No trace of him. Like I said before, he's like a ghost."  
"We are going to take Bawa's remains back to Balaghat", Chadha sighed. "I have the difficult task to inform everyone there is yet another casualty, and inform Bawa's family."  
I helped the two men place the blanket with Bawa's remains in the back of Chadha's jeep.  
"Come back to Balaghat with us before that tiger rips you to shreds", Chadha said.  
"This is a personal thing for me. That tiger has hurt me in ways I can not say or explain to you."  
"What do you mean? And where will you sleep? It's dark, and tigers are nocturnal. He might get back here any time to check on his kill. I'd rather not come back here tomorrow to find your dismembered corpse as well, mister de Berg."  
"It won't be my corpse you'll find."  
Chadha scoffed bitterly. "I've warned you, but it's your own choice. Look, because I don't really want to leave you out here totally helpless and exposed, I'll leave you Bawa's jeep, so that you at least have a safe place to stay in tonight. We'll come back here tomorrow to search more. I'd appreciate your help, because I am eager to see with my own eyes if you are as good as Bawa claimed you are."  
While shaking his head, Chadha and the hunter got into the inspector's jeep, and drove off.

Despite wanting to be back with the pack, I wasn't looking forward to the hike back to the pack's grounds through the dead of night at all. So Chadha's gesture was very welcome indeed. The walk to the campsite, and the emotional strain I was under had ran me down. Not to mention that walking through the night again would mean Shere-Khan would have a big advantage over me with his eyes evolved for seeing in the dark, on top of his other superior senses. The odds of me running into him during my walk back would be too great.  
I opened the jeep's trunk to see what Bawa had packed. Some maps, spare clothing, and a few jerrycans filled with diesel fuel were neatly packed away and secured against the sides of the luggage compartment. A metal box with an open padlock drew my attention. Inside were a Tantal AK74, a 9 mm Browning high power pistol, and the required ammunition.  
It puzzled me. Why didn't Bawa carry them when he went outside? Unless they were back-ups of course.  
I took the rifle and pistol out of the box and held them in my hands. I was struggling with the temptation to take them with me.  
I had only fired firearms once in my life. I'd need to practice first if I would have any chance being able to use them to begin with, and I was less than enthusiastic about doing that here and now, in the still forest. The sound of the shots being fired would carry for miles and could draw unwanted human attention. No, I would stick to the plan.  
After placing the box back where I got it from, I folded the passenger seat down against the back seat and I decided to call it a night. Hopefully I would be able to get a few hours of sleep before getting up at the crack of down.

Eagerly, I took a can of steaming soup off of the fire, and dunked in a piece of toast. It was still early. The first hints of dawn were in the air. My neck and shoulders were slightly sore from sleeping in an awkward position on the passenger's seat of the jeep, but it could be worse. I looked around the familiar area once again. Despite naming this area 'the campsite', nothing was left to remind me it once was the poacher's campsite where everything started. A new chapter in my life. The trench I dug out to sleep in, and where I had that terrible nightmare still was there, but claw marks were all over it. 'Shere-Khan probably smelled I had been here', I realized. I wondered if that was why and how he got all the way to here from his territory. Or was it Bawa's scent trail? He drove to here, so he would have left little of a scent trail for the tiger to pick up on. Was it my scent then? Would that linger long, and strong enough in sufficient quantities for a tiger to pick up on? I realized that even after my extended time in this forest, and encounters with various predators, of who some I had been very close and intimate with, I knew very little about their biology and abilities. Maybe I should put some effort paying more attention.

The fire had died out and the first rays of sun-shine penetrated the forest canopy.  
I packed up my things, locked the car, put the keys in my backpack where my wallet and other important valuables were, and started the walk back.  
One step after the other. Meters, hectometers, kilometers. I wondered if I would ever be done with walking back and forth, and if Shere-Khan would ever be defeated. Alexander, Mowgli's caretaker, the four hunters, Tabaqui's clan mates, Tabaqui, and now Bawa. Who would be next? If he was so close to the pack's grounds now, it would only be a matter of time before he'd venture further and take someone of the pack. Though most certainly, that would mean all-out war. That thought alone scared me. With the entire pack up against him, his days would undoubtedly be numbered, but not without losses. Even if he was injured, he most certainly still was more than able to kill an adult wolf.

Five kilometers into the hike, I stopped for a drink, and set my backpack on the ground to take out some water. The salty soup had left me thirsty, and I drank most of the bottle's contents in one go.  
With force, I cracked out a loud belch, and listened to how the sound got distorted by the rocks and trees reflecting the sound waves. I had never done that while among the wolves. They would probably be horrified. The mental image of their reaction made me chuckle.  
Just after I had re-packed the empty bottle, and was standing with the backpack in my hands, an orange shape appeared in the far distance. Immediately, I dropped the backpack back on the ground and unsheathed my knives.  
With squinted eyes, I peered in the distance and confirmed it was Shere-Khan. The tiger staggered and limped closer.  
My eyes opened wider after he got close enough for us to see each other.  
The tiger stopped after our eyes met.  
Shere-Khan's right flank had a huge bleeding open gash. Almost as if something had taken a large chunk out of his side.  
His right ear was torn off, his left eye was taken out, leaving the left side of his face covered in crusted blood.  
Only about half a meter of his tail was left, a strip of bloody skin with a few fibers of flesh dangled off of the end.  
The wound on his right front paw had gotten infected and had puss dripping out.  
He hacked up a blob of bloody slime before looking at me with his good eye.  
"I killed that pitiful human with one blow from my paw, runt", he snarled, while ropes of bloody saliva dripped out of the corners of his maw. "I saw you walking yesterday, and you didn't even see me, dumb ape. How does your species even survive? I could've attacked you. But after having tried that, I realized there are more effective ways of hurting you, and oh, I want to hurt you. So I went on a little adventure."  
"I can see that went very well for you", I scoffed. "You don't have the guts to attack me again because I am too strong for you, you damn coward. Come one, try me again. You'll loose more than just the few teeth I knocked out of your jaw the last time. You are weak and injured. You're even less of a match for me than when you were before."

Despite his injuries, the tiger jumped up towards me. Though he misjudged the distance and landed right in front of me. I leaped up in the air and landed up top of his back, kicking my boots down against his spine as hard as I could. The tiger growled out in pain and threw me off. I rolled over the ground and lashed out at the feline's face, leaving a deep cut across his left cheek and part of his lip. As fast as I could, I got back on my feet, ready to lash out again, but a powerful whack of the tiger's left claw against my right knee threw me back on the ground. The feline tried to throw himself on me, but pushed his rear legs down harder to jump over me after seeing my machete. However, he didn't use enough force to clear me entirely, and the tip of the blade sliced into his underbelly and loins.  
Cringing in pain, the tiger stopped. After a malicious stare, he turned around and limped away, leaving a trail of blood behind.  
"Don't run from this fight!", I angrily yelled while walking after him. The tiger stepped up his pace.  
A white wolf suddenly ran by me and jumped onto the tiger's back.  
"Stand and fight!", she snarled and dug her fangs into his spine.  
While crying out in agony, Shere-Khan threw her off of his back. The she-wolf landed on her paws and turned around with her fangs bared, facing the tiger with a demonic stare, threateningly taking a step in his direction.  
"Dare to attack me, you malformed beast! I will finish what I started!."  
While growling lowly, he stepped back. "Come at me, you filthy bitch!"  
"This isn't my fight."  
The she-wolf looked me in my eyes. "Finish it", she coldy said.  
My eyes met the tiger's again. The ominous, vicious stare he had before was gone. His eyes expressed agony, pain. And yes, fear.  
Slowly, I walked towards him. Luri backed away, giving me the space I needed to maneuver.

The tiger stepped back more before he quickly braced himself and, with extended claws, leaped at me again.  
I rolled backwards onto the ground, and used the momentum to push him off of me with my legs. The feline rolled over on the ground before struggling to get up again, but he slipped and fell back down halfway.  
I sheathed my knives and crouched in front of Shere-Khan, looking him in his eye. "You know, I'd prefer to just leave you here to die an agonizing and slow death. That is what you had in mind for me wasn't it? It's what you deserve. But unfortunately, I'll have to stick to the Law, and give you a merciful, and quick death."  
The tiger suddenly reached out to my neck with his maw wide open, but I punched him on his nose with my left fist before slamming his head onto the rocky ground with my body.  
With a swift move, I unsheathed my bowie knife and drove it in between his shoulder blades. He cried out in pain. I leaned over him and whispered "Your demise", in the bloody hole where his right ear used to be.  
I got up, unsheathed the machete, and let myself fall onto his back with my full weight, slamming the blade into the tiger's body next to the bowie knife, straight through his spine and heart.  
I felt the life ebbing away from the tiger's body. I exhaled.

Luri stood by me and soothingly licked my shoulders. The fury that had taken her had ebbed away, the fiery look in her eyes gone.  
Vermillion, Bagheera, Sura and Akru stood a small distance away.  
"Bacchus", she softly sighed with a sad tone in her voice. "He had taken the cubs out to play beyond the treeline when Shere-Khan attacked him. He had no chance. I was just in time to save the cubs."  
I had to support myself with both hands to prevent myself from falling over. Tear drops mixed in with the tiger's blood on the rocky ground. Bacchus was so innocent, so defenseless. I clenched my jaws and punched the tiger's corpse in anger.  
"Shhhh", Luri shushed while gently taking my wrist in her mouth. "Let it go. He's gone."  
"Look! Humans", Akru called.  
"I'll deal with them", I said while wiping my tears away.

Chadha and the hunter stopped dead in their tracks when confronted with the scene in front of them.  
Before them on the ground lay Shere-Khan's body with the handles of my two knives sticking out of his back.  
I stood behind, with Luri next to me.  
The other wolves and Bagheera sat behind us.  
Chadha eyes moved between the dead tiger, me, Luri, and the others. his mouth open and an expression of disbelieve in his eyes.  
Silence.  
The hunter slowly reached for his rifle, but Chadha quickly gestured him not to.  
I nodded to Chadha.  
"As promised", I said while pointing to Shere-Khan. "His remains are yours. Please take them away. I'm sick and tired of seeing that tiger here. And so are my friends."  
"Your friends?", the hunter smirked.  
"What is this? Jungle Book?", Chadha scoffed while looking at the wolves and Bagheera.  
Bagheera walked passed by us and sat down in front of the dead tiger, facing Chadha and the hunter, who cautiously stepped back a few paces.  
"Do not fear. We have no intention to harm you if you do not harm us", Bagheera said.  
"W... what the hell!?", Chadha exclaimed.  
"Yes. You're not dreaming. You're listening to me speaking to you. Please ignore your brains telling you that this is not possible and listen to what I have to say. What lies here behind me are the remains of Shere-Khan. A tiger who has reaped havoc in this forest for years. He has taken loved ones from us, and our pack, including from our human pack mate", the panther said while gesturing to me with his head. "Please take his remains with you and leave us in peace."  
Chadha looked at me. "Pack mate? You... You are living with those animals?", he asked in disbelieve.  
"Ever since I crashed that car, and again since I got back here. Bagheera, the black panther here, was captured by poachers and was to be killed and his skin sold off on the black market. He's the one that I saved. Sorry for lying to you and Bawa about him running away as soon a he got out of the cage. I would probably be locked away in a mental institution now if I would have told you the truth. He brought me to the wolf pack that took me in as one of their own, and nurtured me back to good health."  
"Unbelievable", Chadha stammered. "I could not believe the story that kid told after he emerged out of the forest years back. He was talking about living with wolves, a panther and a bear all the time. We thought he was delusional."  
"Oh, Mowgli. He is where our dens are", Bagheera nodded. "He has returned to our pack as well."  
I grabbed the handles of my knives, pulled them out of Shere-Khans remains and cleaned them using the tiger's fur.  
"Do you need help with carrying him to your jeep?", I asked.  
"Oh, uh. Yes. If you would, please."

With effort, the three of us placed the tiger's remains in the back of Chadha's jeep.  
"I still can't believe this. It will be one hell of a story to tell everyone", Chadha sighed, while looking at Bagheera, who had accompanied us on the walk back to the campsite.  
"But thank you, mister de Berg. You have ridden us of this danger, and we all can work towards closure. Now, we can arrange a commission for your work."  
"That won't be needed", I answered. "I only want to ask you for three things. To keep what you two saw here to yourselves, not speak to a living soul about it, and to leave us in peace. and I'd like to keep Bawa's jeep. I miss the convenience of a vehicle to get to town easily if I am in need of something."  
"Very well", Chadha said after some short contemplating, and we shook hands.  
"Thank you."  
Bagheera and me watched Chadha's jeep disappear in between the trees.  
I sat down on the tree trunk. The panther leaped up and sat down next to me. He raised his left paw, and I shoved over and leaned against him.  
I pointed to the pile of rusted bars. "Here is where it all started. This place surely has gained a big importance in my life. How fitting to close a chapter here as well."  
The panther rubbed his cheeks against mine and gently mouthed my nose and lips.  
"Do you feel better now Shere-Khan is no more?", I asked.  
"Yes. It does justice to those he has taken."  
"I just feel raw and hurt."  
"Because of Bacchus?"  
"Yes. And all the others."  
"Now you have the opportunity to mourn and give them a place in your heart. We all have", the panther said while he leaped off of the trunk. "Come, let's walk back."


	15. Chapter 15

15.

The Sun was setting.  
While I was staring at the boulders and fresh soil that were used to seal Bacchus' old then, two arms reached around my waist from behind, and Mowgli pulled me back and pressed his cheek against mine.  
He sobbed. I turned around to take him in my arms, rubbing his back and shoulders with my hands to comfort him.  
Bacchus was the omega of the Seeonee pack.  
He was often made fun of and mocked, because of his clumsy appearance. But everybody loved him, and often enough, the wolves had shown their appreciation to him.  
Because he wasn't good at joining in on the hunt, he was given the task of looking after the pack's cubs and yearlings when their parents had other obligations, but he did a lot more than that. He always had a listening ear, and everyone was always warmly welcomed in his den.  
His death hit everyone hard.  
"We all lay him to rest here in his old den", Mowgi softly said, while trying to suppress the sobbing. "We would have waited for you to return, but he was just... It was so..."  
With the palm of my hand, I wiped the tears off of his cheeks. "It's alright. Come, let's go back to the others and get settled for the night."

"You're not coming?", Mowgli asked while crouched in front of the communal den's entrance.  
"I will be in a bit. I'm going to say goodnight to Baloo and Bagheera."  
In the fading daylight, the panther lay snug in between the bear's paws, who tenderly licked the feline's cheeks and muzzle.  
Baloo reached out to me, and I sat down and leaned against the brown bear.  
"It's all so hard", I sighed.  
"Life here is hard, my friend", Baloo solemnly said.  
We sat together like that for a good while, enjoying each other's company and touch.  
"You're going to sleep?", Bagheera asked.  
"Yeah, I should", I yawned.  
"Better go back to the den then", Baloo said. "I'd love for you to sleep with us tonight, but Luri asked me if I could tell you to go to the den for sleep if we would see you. The wolves want you there for the night."  
I embraced Bagheera and Baloo and wished them good night.

I took my clothing off before entering the den so not to wake everyone up. On my hands and knees, I made my way down the entrance tunnel, and placed my clothing in a pile in a corner of the den.  
Mowgli was sound asleep in between Sura and Akru. Vermillion, Luri, Lala, Maki and the cubs were sleeping together.  
I sighed inaudibly. My mood had darkened considerably. All I really wanted was to go to my den for the night to be alone with my thoughts and feelings. But because Luri had specially asked Baloo to tell me to come to the den, I did not want to make her feel bad. I sprawled out next to my pile of clothing in the corner of the den by myself, using it to cushion my head.

A bright light woke me up. Confused. I looked around. No den. Just trees. The Sun shone in my face.  
Muffled voices were whispering all at once. Slowly, the cacophony of words harmonized.  
"Your demise."  
"Your demise."  
"Your demise."  
I reached for my belt to grab my machete, but nothing was there. No clothes. no machete, no bowie knife. Just me, naked. I looked over my body. My scars were gone. I wasn't sore. I had grown muscular.  
"Your dem..."  
A loud roar silenced the voices.  
A hazy shape appeared and slowly took form.  
Black. White. Orange? Stripes? Black stripes! A tiger! NO!  
I tried to run away with all my might, but I couldn't move an inch.  
Shere-Khan stood in front of me. I was paralyzed.  
Something was different, though.  
He was kind, caring, beautiful and gracious. He greeted me by rubbing his huge head against my chest and flank, almost pushing me over.  
His soft fur brushed against my bare skin. His warm lips went around my left hand and wrist, and he pulled me along with him. Where the tiger went, I followed.  
A lake. A mound. A den. Shere-Khan brought me to the entrance and nudged me to go inside.  
I crawled through the tunnel, which ended in a forest. Puzzled, I got back on my feet.  
Alexander, Tabaqui and Bacchus sat in front of me, looking at me happy, and accomplished.  
Longing for their touch, scent and warmth, I took a step towards them and reached out. As if my hand had touched the still surface of a body of water, their shapes distorted, blurred and disappeared.  
My heart ached.  
Darkness.

With my eyes wide open, I pushed myself up on my knees and held my face in my hands. My dream had gone, the heartache hadn't. I felt emotional and a burning desire to be held and comforted had taken a hold of me. I was just done with being a human adult.  
Maki was awake, and raised her head when she saw me sitting up, waking the others up by her stir.  
Lala's cubs started to play-fight with each other, but were quickly shushed by Luri, who pushed them against her flank with her snout. Vermillion took the opportunity to give Lala some fatherly love and affection, protectively curling around her head and upper body. The dreamy, blissful look in Lala's eyes really touched me.  
This is what it was all about. The recent losses had left everyone hurting. The unconditioned love, tenderness and display of affection was how the wolves comforted and helped each other to cope. That is why Luri wanted me here so badly.  
Maki nudged me to a spot against her flank next to her cubs, who briefly looked at me a bit confused before wriggling against their mother's warm fur and me to get comfortable and go back to sleep.  
The yellow-white she-wolf gently clamped her soft lips over my nose and mouth. Her warm breath and scent soothed me, making me feel safe and secure. Before long, I drifted off into a slumber.

A cold draft woke me up and made me shiver. Maki had left, taking her two cubs outside for an early morning nature call.  
Lala softly nudged her two cubs who had gotten back to her to nurse towards me and sprawled next to me. "Did you have a bad dream earlier?"  
I exhaled. "It didn't feel like a bad dream. Alexander, Tabaqui and Bacchus were there. But I couldn't get to them. And Shere-Khan was there too. He was kind. He took me to meet them. I just wanted to hug them so badly, but couldn't. That is what hurts."  
"Oh you", the red she-wolf fussed me and shifted over a little bit. "Go lay down."  
Lala licked her cubs to sooth them back to sleep. When they both were peacefully snoozing next to me against her warm belly, the red wolf turned her motherly affection to me. Her soft licks, her fur and warm breath on my skin felt wonderful. Now even more so than with Maki earlier, It could not bother me that I was an adult human laying against the belly of a mother wolf right next to, and like one of her cubs. The blissful feeling of being looked after, cared for, and being kept safe and warm was something I direly needed after everything that had happened, and it did me tremendously good.

Lala softly licked me awake. "Do you also want to go out for a nature call? Maki and me are taking the little ones outside."  
In all honesty, I felt very little for getting up, even if my bladder was rather full. I just was too comfortable and snug.  
As if the red she-wolf could read my thoughts, she licked my nose and smiled "You can sleep some more after, you silly."  
Maki poked her cold nose in my stomach, making me twitch. "Go on, get up, sleepyhead. The sooner you're done, the sooner you can get back."

Mowgli, Sura and Akru were outside of the den's entrance in the early morning air.  
Seeing those three sitting together made me feel like an outsider. Mowgli had lived his entire youth with them as their brother. He certainly was a lot more of a wolf than I was or would ever be. Just the way he acted around his brothers, he was agile and moved around like a wolf. He nuzzled, nipped, and mouthed at his brothers.  
Maki tugged at my hand, gesturing me to come along.  
Sura, Akru and Mowgli also came after they saw we were out.  
"You humans can't even sleep a full night without having to pee", Sura chuckled. "Mowgli had to go as well."  
I shrugged and walked around a thick tree to relieve myself.  
After I was done and got back to Maki, Mowgli and Lala, we watched Sura and Akru play fight and wrestle with the cubs. The green-white wolf nose-nudged my side. "You've never had a mate?"  
I shook my head. "Never had the desire to, really. My human life alone was enough to deal with for me."  
"Maybe you'll come across a nice she-wolf some time, you never know", Lala grinned.  
"Well, I have you all to care for now."  
Mowgli chuckled and held me close.  
"Let's go back to the den", Sura proposed, after the cubs had enough roughhousing.

"You come lay with us for a while now", the blue-black furred wolf smiled after we made ourselves comfortable again on the den's soft ground. He sprawled next to me, followed by Akru and Mowgli.  
I stared to the thick tree roots that ran all over and across the den's ceiling and exhaled. Mowgli took me in his arms, and I rested my head on his chest. He softly ran one of his hands through my scruffy hair. "Yes, I'm also hurting, brother, that will take a while. But know you're somewhere where you're loved, and where you're taken care of."  
Luri reached over Mowgli and kindly gestured me to move over a little bit so she had more space.  
I watched how the white she-wolf gently cleaned him. After she was done, Luri reached over me and sniffed and licked my lower belly as well.  
Initially, I didn't really feel much for it, but on the other hand. I didn't really want to protest either. I was far too comfortable in between Mowgli on one end, and Sura and Akru on the other. I just couldn't turn down her well-meant affection either. Like Baloo said earlier, no one really would think much of it. So I decided to put my human reservations out of my mind for this time.

We mourned for a few days more, but after that, everyone gradually got back to their normal routines. I also slowly settled back in to pack life. I made a few trips down to Balaghat together with Mowgli in Bawa's jeep to fetch some materials with the last of my money to do some work on the support structure of my den with.  
On one afternoon, I was standing in front of the entrance looking over my handy work. I had repaired the support structure, made a rudimentary chair and a table out of a few logs of teak, and a few planks to store things on.  
I looked up after hearing the familiar rustling of the brushes to see Bagheera and Luri walk through.  
"Are you turning your den into a human house?", the panther jokingly asked after admiring my work.  
"Well, I want this to last for a good while longer, and to feel a bit more homely", I smiled while sitting down next to the two.  
Luri leaned into me and rubbed her muzzle over my nose. "I have something very important to ask of you."  
I looked at her and was a bit unsettled by her doleful expression.  
"Alexanders remains are still on that mound where you said they were. I really hope that it won't be too hard on you, but can you bring him back here so he can be laid to rest in the old den? Bagheera will join you."  
I looked to the ground and exhaled, "He deserves to be in a place he was fond of and where he has spent so much time with those he loved, and not on that forsaken mound. I'm sorry for not coming up with that myself earlier."  
The panther licked my face, "You were dealing with your losses, and so were we."

I opened the passenger's side back door of the jeep to let Bagheera out and grab my backpack that I would use to carry Alexander's remains in. I estimated that where I pulled over and parked was a short walk away from the mound.  
After walking around for a while, I came across characteristics in the landscape that were etched in my subconscious brain, and before long, we were walking up the small mound.  
The grass and vegetation had totally overgrown Alexander's skeleton. After scouring the area, I had collected all the bones I could manage to find and respectfully laid out accordingly as best as I could in front of us, on a patch of soil that I had cleared with my shovel.  
"Hello, old friend", Bagheera whispered while struggling visibly. I embraced him, and he leaned against me heavily. Since Shere-Khan had killed Alexander, the feline had not been back here and it affected him strongly, like it did me.  
We both sat there for a while, staring at the wolf's remains. Bagheera licked tears off of my cheeks. "Thank you so much for being here and doing this for us."  
Without saying anything, I opened my backpack and carefully stacked the bones inside, with Alexander's skull wrapped separately in a towel on top.

Mowgli and Baloo had cleared away the boulders and thick vegetation in front of the old den's entrance to make it accessible.  
They were joined by me, Bagheera, and all the wolves of the Seeonee pack to pay Alexander our last respect and to finally say goodbye to our old friend and pack leader. I had laid the bones out in front of the old den's entrance for Luri to carry them inside.  
She stood over the remains, affectionately mouthing and licking Alexander's skull.  
Seeing this display of love for her dead mate was too much for me. My legs turned to jelly and I had to go sit down. Vermillion, who was next to me protectively sat over me, licking my face and cheeks. Baloo and Bagheera were tending to Mowgli, who was inconsolable.  
Luri picked up Alexander's skull, and carried it into the den first. She then walked up to me and nuzzled me. "Please, come."  
I walked over to Mowgli and took his hand. He swallowed up his tears and got up, joined by Akru, Sura, and Bagheera.  
We each picked up a few of the bones and carried them into the old den. I looked around the interior, and everything was still so familiar, as if I had only slept here last night.  
Teardrops landed on the bones I was carrying. After Sura carried the last ones inside, I arranged the bones anatomically, and lay my left hand on Alexander's skull for a few moments to tell him farewell in my thoughts, before making room for the others.  
Baloo and Vermillion sat with me until a few minutes later, the others exited the den. The brown bear helped me get up, and together with Mowgli, we sealed the old den back up with the boulders, and fresh soil.


	16. Epilogue

Life with the pack had been good.  
Mowgli had gone back to Balaghat to study and become a forest ranger. He turned out to excel in networking and lobbying. Within a few years, he had set up a network of rangers to work as wildlife preservationists, to prevent poaching, and to educate people.  
Mowgli and I were quite loved among the community in Balaghatt, because of the part we played with getting rid of Shere-Khan, so it wasn't very hard to secure a permit for a plan we had been talking about for a while now, during his numerous visits to the pack.  
We were still young and vital. But with the future in mind, we decided to build a house at the location of the old campsite. Because the trail which ended up in the road leading to Balaghat started there, the river right next to it, and the pack's grounds at a reasonable distance, it was a perfect location.  
The house turned out lovely. It had a big balcony overlooking the river, and a huge backyard with underground dens, a few sheds, and a small lake. We had installed solar panels and a water-powered generator to supply us with electricity. Gradually, I started moving over my belongings from my den to the house.

When Sura became alpha again, he formed a "Council of Elders" to lead the pack, consisting of him, me, Akru, Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo and Luri.  
On one day, Mowgli and me stood on Council Rock to address everyone.  
The pack had grown considerably throughout the years, as had its territory, which now stretched out from just beyond the tree-line near Balaghat, to Tabaqui's tomb, and all the way back to Council-Rock.  
Wolves from neigbouring forests had joined and mated up, but also other animals. Monkeys from the Bandar Log who got fed up with life there had found a welcoming home here, and a group of elephants had befriended the pack as well.  
Everyone was very sad to hear about our decision to move away from the pack's grounds, and into our new house, which we had appropriately named 'The Campsite'.  
Luri and Vermillion, who had grown fond of each other and had mated up, were both getting old, and after a bit of contemplation, they agreed to our proposal to come live with us at The Campsite.  
We made it absolutely clear to everyone that our house was in the pack's territory, and thus was part of it. Everyone was more than welcome to come and stay for as long as they pleased.

After a good few happy years together, the inevitable sad goodbyes came.  
Bagheera and Vermillion were laid to rest in Tabaqui's tomb, since their dens used to be there.  
After Vermillion passed away, Luri choose to stay with me and Mowgli in the house. We both tended to her with all our love and devotion, like she had done for us all those years, making her comfortable in her ripe old age. But time spares nobody.  
On one fateful morning, it was her time, and the white she-wolf didn't wake up any more.  
I rang Mowgli up, who was in Balaghat giving a seminar. He immediately dropped everything and drove back over.  
We carried her remains to the old den, and lay her to rest next to Alexander.  
Baloo, who had moved to live with us after Bagheera had passed, died a few years later. Mowgli and me brought in a small crane, and built him a massive tomb with big boulders, just outside of our yard.  
Then our brothers Sura and Akru. And inevitably, Lala.  
Like Luri had told me, I learned to love others, as the generations came and went, making the losses still devastating, but tolerable.

The daughter of the doctor, back then, the small girl who was attacked by Shere-Khan, and who Bagheera and me ran into on our way to find anti-biotics to cure Sura, had become good friends of me and Mowgli. She loved to come over, spend time with the pack, and help us out as we grew older. She agreed to become our caretaker, and move in to an annex we had built.  
Mowgli and me set up a will, leaving her the house and the responsibility for the wildlife foundation we had set up, keeping the Seeonee forest safe from any future human developments, securing the pack's continuity. At the bottom of the will, there were two lines dictating our last wishes to be buried in the old den, next to the remains of our adoptive father and mother.


End file.
